Amid warmongering and nuclear threats by senior Pakistani leaders, Islamabad has urged India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Water Treaty, which New Delhi has held in abeyance since May, following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said it was committed to the full implementation of the treaty and welcomed the interpretation of the Court of Arbitration on the issue.
The request from Pakistan followed a nuclear war threat from its military chief Asim Munir and a war cry by former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto over India’s stand on the water sharing pact.
Pak’s Request
Pakistan’s Foreign Office requested India on Monday to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Agreement, as it welcomed the interpretation related to the Indus Water Treaty made by the Court of Arbitration on August 8. Islamabad said that the Award interprets the designed criteria for the new run-of-river hydropower projects, to be constructed by India on the Western Rivers (Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus).
“We urge India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty, and fulfil its treaty obligations, wholly and faithfully,” the Foreign Office said in a post on X.
“In a significant finding, the Court has declared that India shall ‘let flow’ the waters of the Western Rivers for Pakistan’s unrestricted use. In that connection, the specified exceptions for generation of hydro-electric plants must conform strictly to the requirements laid down in the Treaty, rather than to what India might consider an ‘ideal’ or ‘best practices’ approach,” it further quoted the Award as saying.
India’s Stand
Notably, India has never recognised the proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration after Pakistan raised objections to certain design elements of the two projects under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty.
India was forced to take a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in “abeyance” after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. India has accused Pakistan of supporting terrorists behind the killings.
Under the treaty brokered by the World Bank in 1960, India has absolute rights over the water of the Beas, Satlej and Ravi rivers. Pakistan has rights over the water of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers.
War Threats
On Monday, Pakistan politician Bilawal Bhutto issued a war threat to India over the suspension of the decades-old Indus Water Treaty, saying New Delhi’s actions caused “great damage” to Pakistan and urged all Pakistanis to “unite” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The actions of the Indian government, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, have caused great damage to Pakistan. It is necessary that we, as a united people, stand together against PM Modi and these aggressions…You people (Pakistanis) are strong enough for war to get back all six rivers. If India continues on this path, it leaves us with no choice except to consider all options, including the possibility of war, to protect our national interests,” he said.
His warning came a day after Pakistan’s military chief, Munir, warned of a nuclear war and threatened to take down “half the world” if Islamabad faced an existential threat in a future war with India.
