How did the 1972 Simla Agreement change the former ceasefire line in Kashmir?

The 1972 Simla Agreement formally converted the existing ceasefire line in Kashmir into the Line of Control.

While the original ceasefire line, established in 1949, was regarded as a temporary expedient, the Simla Agreement required both India and Pakistan to respect the new Line of Control without unilateral alteration. Although the agreement did not officially recognize this line as an international border, it served to define the division of the territory's administration. It was widely speculated at the time that Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto may have tacitly accepted the Line of Control as a de facto border, though he later denied this position.123