The time-period of 1965-1969 contains the main POD for the timeline Tashkent Declaration and forms the basis for the rest of the timeline. The time period starts from 1 January, 1965 and ends on 31 December, 1970.
Timeline[]
1965[]
The Second Indo-Pakistani War began on 5 August and ended on 29 September in a decisive Indian victory following the capture of Lahore which was due to the delayed UN ceasefire. ATL the Indian High Command takes the decision to delay the ceasefire and is able to delay the ceasefire that the Security Council offered. During this delay of 6 days (the OTL War ended on 23 September), the Indian Army was able to capture Lahore on 25 September and advanced further into Pakistan along the Punjab-Rajasthan border. The Indian Army had the upper hand with twice the number of serviceable tanks as the Pakistan Army and with the Pakistan Army having depleted 80% of its ammunition reserves. The war ended on 29 September with the Indian Army having captured Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Mangla.
1966[]
The development of the Indian nuclear program accelerated under Homi J. Bhabha. OTL Homi Bhabha died in an air crash in the Swiss Alps, however ATL he was not present on that flight. Due to this the Indian Nuclear programme remained under Homi J. Bhabha. OTL the leadership had passed onto Vikram Sarabhai who had Gandhian beliefs and directed the programme towards peaceful purposes than weapons development. On the other hand Homi J. Bhabha had been aggressively lobbying for nuclear weapons development. The Tashkent Conference was held in Tashkent between Pakistan and India and was hosted by Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin. The Tashkent Conference ended with the handing over of Pakistan occupied Kashmir to India. Jammu and Kashmir was now recognised as a part of India and Pakistan surrendered its claims on the region, in return it was given back the territories occupied by India in Pakistan Punjab. Major changes occurred in Indian foreign policy as it moved closer to the USSR.
Lal Bahadur Shastri returned fit and fine from the Tashkent Conference. He initiated small scale economic reforms and the Green revolution and the White revolution (related to milk production) in India.
The Tashkent Declaration and the defeat severely humiliated Pakistan. The news of the Tashkent Declaration shocked the people of Pakistan. The Pakistani media had talked of Pakistani victories in the initial stages of the war. The then foreign minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto strongly protested the signing of the peace treaty, saying that Pakistan should have continued fighting the war than accepting the ceasefire. Bhutto was ousted from the Pakistani government. Pakistan had been engulfed by countrywide riots ever since the news of the Tashkent Declaration reached Pakistan. There were major industrial and labour strikes across the country which were subsequently fuelled by Bhutto's dismissal. Bhutto formed the People's Party of Pakistan, the PPP, a socialist party which gained massive popularity. The people started calling for the resignation of President Ayub Khan and this severely damaged his image. By December, a severe government crackdown, facilitated by the army led to the end of the civil unrest in Pakistan. President Ayub Khan retained power. Meanwhile, Bengali nationalism had been growing steadily in East Pakistan and the Awami League gained popularity. The round table conference scheduled by the Awami League with the President was cancelled because of massive civil unrest.
1967[]
In 1967, the PPP tapped a wave of anger against Ayub Khan and successfully called for major labour strikes in the country. There was another severe crackdown on these strikes. The Awami League held the round table conference with the government of Pakistan and demanded greater autonomy for East Pakistan. Bhutto intervened and the deal was put down. None of the points made by the Awami League were considered by the Government of Pakistan. In 1967 a Socialist convention, attended by the country's leftist philosophers and notable thinkers, took place in Lahore. Having retained power, President Ayub Khan now shifted the focus of the government towards rearming Pakistan, having suffered a massive defeat in 1965. With an American arms embargo in effect, Pakistan forged closer defence ties with China and procured arms from France and China.
The 3rd Arab-Israeli War started on June 5 and ended with Israel gaining control of the Sinai peninsula, the Gaza strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights by the end of the war on 10 June. The War is also known as the Six-Days War.
The Shastri-led Indian National Congress won the Indian general elections with a supermajority of 392 seats. With such a mandate, Lal Bahadur Shastri started implementing tax reforms and small economic reforms. Forces of the People's Republic of China infiltrated the Indian protectorate of Sikkim resulting in the 1967 Sino-Indian border skirmish ending with People's Liberation Army forces being repulsed back.
1968[]
Leftists in Pakistan accused Ayub Khan of encouraging crony capitalism, the exploitation of workers and the suppression of the rights and ethnic-nationalism of the Bengalis (in East Pakistan), Sindhis, the Baloch and the Pashtun. The independence movement continued to grow in East Pakistan. By the end of 1968, Khan presented the Agartala Case which led to the arrests of many Awami League leaders, but was forced to withdraw it after a serious uprising in East Pakistan. Under pressure from the PPP, public resentment, and anger against his administration, Khan resigned from the presidency in poor health and handed over his authority to the army commander, General Yahya Khan, who imposed martial law.
1969[]
Muammar Gaddafi overthrew the monarchy in Libya in a bloodless coup.
Yahya Khan continued rearming Pakistan, importing weapons from abroad. Elections were scheduled for late 1970 in Pakistan. Pakistan imported an additional 40 F104 Starfighters and several F5s from the US and also started importing the F6 (Chinese Mig-19 copy) from China.
With the success of the initial reforms in India under Lal Bahadur Shastri, more economic reforms were introduced allowing greater private participation in the industrial and services sector. The construction of a new national highway system was announced and the automotive sector was opened to private players. The government-owned Maruti Corporation began the licensed production of the ZAZ Zaporozhets city car.