Pakistan Says It Replied To India On Review Of Indus Water Treaty

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has responded to a letter by India asking to start negotiations for the review of the Indus Water Treaty, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday. India earlier this year for the first time issued a notice to Pakistan, seeking a review and modification of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), in view of Islamabad’s “intransigence” to comply with the dispute redressal mechanism of the pact that was signed more than six decades ago for matters relating to cross-border rivers.

“I can confirm that Pakistan has responded to the Indian letter on the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan remains committed to the implementation of the Treaty in good faith and to ensure its water security,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly briefing.

“I would not like to add to media speculation. As I have said, we have responded to India. I have nothing further to add,” she said when asked about the details of the Pakistani response. The India Water Treaty (IWT) signed in 1960 through the good offices of the World Bank has survived the vicissitudes of the acrimonious ties between the countries.

To another query, Baloch said that Pakistan utilised the relevant channel of communication “where our Indus Commissioner has sent the letter to his Indian counterpart”. Reacting to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent remarks on Pakistan, she said that these remarks reflect Indian leadership’s “unhealthy obsession” with Pakistan.

Asked about the participation of Indian Charge’ d’affaires in the Iftar dinner hosted by the Foreign Minister on March 30, she said there was no need to read too much into this. “It was an interfaith Iftar and the entire diplomatic corps was invited”.

She also said that Adviser to the Prime Minister on Culture, Engr. Amir Muqam, virtually participated in the SCO Ministers of Culture Meeting hosted by India on April 3 and underlined the need for promoting cultural exchanges and cooperation under the SCO framework to foster mutual understanding. “As an active member of SCO, Pakistan will continue to participate in all SCO activities and continuously contribute to their outcomes,” she said.

India hosted the 20th session of the Culture Ministers’ Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday, with Union minister G Kishan Reddy emphasising on the importance of cultural collaborations and dialogue in propagating “peaceful coexistence through mutual respect, diversity and inclusiveness”.

Culture ministers of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the meeting virtually, the Culture Ministry said in a statement. India currently holds the presidency of the SCO. During her press briefing, Baloch also expressed “deep concern” at the recent incidents of alleged communal violence and asked India to take firm action against the extremists.