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39 minutes ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
India rejects arbitration court's ‘ruling' on Kishanganga, Ratle power projects
India on Friday rejected the so-called supplemental award by the Court of Arbitration on the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it had never recognised the court's authority. India's position 'has all along been that the constitution of this so-called arbitral body is in itself a serious breach of the Indus Waters Treaty and consequently any proceedings before this forum and any award or decision taken by it are also for that reason illegal and per se void', said the Ministry of External Affairs. In a ruling on Thursday, the Court of Arbitration in The Hague said that India holding the treaty in abeyance ' does not deprive the Court of Arbitration of competence' and can therefore continue hearing the matter. The court was considering the impact of India's decision to suspend the treaty on the proceedings. In April, New Delhi had held the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terrorist attack until Pakistan 'credibly and irrevocably' ends its support for cross-border terrorism. India has not participated in the proceedings and has rejected all previous rulings of the court on the matter. India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 with the World Bank as an additional signatory. The pact sought to divide the water of the Indus river and its tributaries equitably among the two countries. Under the treaty, water from three eastern rivers, Beas, Ravi and Sutlej, was allocated to India and that from the three western rivers – Chenab, Indus and Jhelum – to Pakistan. The treaty also permitted both countries to use the other's rivers for certain purposes, such as small hydroelectric projects that require little or no water storage. On Friday, the external affairs ministry said that 'until such time that the treaty is in abeyance, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the treaty'. It added: 'No Court of Arbitration, much less this illegally constituted arbitral body which has no existence in the eye of law, has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of India's actions in exercise of its rights as a sovereign.' 'This latest charade at Pakistan's behest is yet another desperate attempt by it to escape accountability for its role as the global epicentre of terrorism,' the ministry said. 'Pakistan's resort to this fabricated arbitration mechanism is consistent with its decades-long pattern of deception and manipulation of international forums.' The dispute While the treaty had largely ensured peace over water sharing, there has been a long-standing dispute over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects. The Kishanganga project, in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district across the Kishanganga river, which is a tributary of the Jhelum river, was inaugurated in 2018. The Ratle project, over the Chenab river in Kishtwar district, is under construction. Pakistan has raised concerns about the design of the Indian dams, meant for power generation, which it claims will obstruct the flow of the rivers that provide water for 80% of its irrigated crops, thereby accusing India of violating the treaty. India has rejected the claims. Islamabad had taken the matter related to the court of arbitration in 2016 even though India had agreed to the neutral expert mechanism. India argued that having two parallel dispute resolution processes – arbitration court and the neutral expert – was not in line with the treaty.
Hindustan Times
40 minutes ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Visa requests be treated on merit: India on US's social media directive
The government has said it believes all US visa applications by Indian nationals should be treated on the basis of merit. The Ministry of External Affairs made the remarks on Thursday in response to US Embassy releasing guidelines requiring visa applicants to provide details of their social media identifiers. Those applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa in the US are now required to switch the settings of their social media handles to "public". While the government noted that immigration matters pertain to the sovereign functions of a country, it also urged that the visa applications of Indians be judged on the basis of merit. "Visa and immigration matters pertain to sovereign functions of any country. But, we have seen the guidelines issued by the US Embassy, providing details of social media identifiers in visa applications," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The MEA spokesperson also assured that India was trying to safeguard interests of its nationals and was in touch with the US on consular issues. What's the new US visa rule? Those applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa in the US are now required to switch the settings of their social media handles to "public" so they could be screened. The F or M category is for student visas and J category for exchange visitor visa. Applicants are also mandated to list all social media usernames of every platform they have used from the last five years on the DS-160 visa application form. According to the US embassy, social media vetting is necessary to establish the applicants' identity and admissibility to the US under law. If applicants fail to provide the social media information, it could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas. Visa applicants have been asked to provide "social media identifiers" on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms since 2019, the embassy clarified. The new guidelines come in the wake of US President Donald Trump's intensified immigration crackdown. Immigration laws have been tightened in the US, and those entering the country illegally would face jail time and deportation. The intensified immigration move recently led to protests in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
The Print
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
India rejects court arbitration on Kishanganga-Ratle dispute, calls it Pakistan's ‘latest charade'
The statement added: 'India has never recognised the existence in law of this so-called Court of Arbitration, and India's position has all along been that the constitution of this so-called arbitral body is in itself a serious breach of the Indus Waters Treaty and consequently any proceedings before this forum and any award or decision taken by it are also for that reason illegal and per se void.' 'Today, the illegal Court of Arbitration, purportedly constituted under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, albeit in brazen violation of it, has issued what it characterizes as a 'supplemental award' on its competence concerning the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,' the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement Friday. New Delhi: India 'categorically rejected' the supplemental award on competence announced by 'the-so called' Court of Arbitration on the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, terming it as the 'latest charade' by Pakistan to 'escape accountability' as the 'global epicentre' of terrorism. The strong statement comes as India and Pakistan have continued to lock-horns over the 330 MW Kishanganga project on the Kishanganga river and the 850 MW Ratle hydroelectric project on the Chenab river. The issues first surfaced in 2007, when Pakistan raised six objections to India's Kishanganga project. Four of the six issues were technical, while two were legal. In 2009, Pakistan went to the Court of Arbitration over the two legal questions, which had issued its final award in 2013 allowing India to divert the waters of the Kishanganga with conditions. However, the technical issues remained unresolved, with Islamabad also raising issues with the Ratle hydroelectric project. India maintained that the issue should be dealt with through the appointment of a 'neutral expert', which is another way to resolve disputes under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). In 2015, Pakistan sought the appointment of a neutral expert, however, backtracking later and calling for the disputes to be resolved through a court of arbitration. New Delhi rejected the constitution of a court of arbitration. The World Bank started both processes–appointing a neutral expert and seeking the formation of a court of arbitration–simultaneously. India has not participated in the arbitration proceedings since. Earlier this year, the neutral expert–Michael Lino–backed India's stance, ruling that he had the competence to deal with the issue at hand. However, following the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people, New Delhi moved to hold the treaty in 'abeyance' until Islamabad stops supporting cross-border terrorism. 'Following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India has in exercise of its rights as a sovereign nation under international law, placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,' the MEA statement said. It added: 'Until such time that the Treaty is in abeyance, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the Treaty. No Court of Arbitration, much less this illegally constituted arbitral body which has no existence in the eye of law, has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of India's actions in exercise of its rights as a sovereign.' Pakistan has called India's move to hold the treaty in abeyance unlawful and has promised that any diversion of the Indus waters could constitute an act of war. However, New Delhi has maintained its diplomatic position. 'This latest charade at Pakistan's behest is yet another desperate attempt by it to escape accountability for its role as the global epicenter of terrorism. Pakistan's resort to this fabricated arbitration mechanism is consistent with its decades-long pattern of deception and manipulation of international forums,' the MEA said (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: With Indus Waters Treaty on hold, India working to revive Tulbul project on Kashmir's Wular Lake
India Gazette
6 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Experts present their views on India-Bangladesh ties to parliamentary panel
New Delhi [India], June 27 (ANI): The Standing Committee on External Affairs met on Friday and heard views of experts on 'Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship'. Chairperson of the panel Shashi Tharoor, MP, later said the committee heard insights of 'four first-class experts'.He said the panel was told that the number of Bangladeshis coming to the country has come down. 'You will see our report in the next few weeks... We didn't discuss (the issue of Bangladeshis living in India). But we were told about a figure that the number of Bangladeshis coming to our country has lessened now,' he said. India-Bangladesh ties have seen some strain in the recent past. India on Thursday condemned the demolition of a Durga temple in Dhaka, criticising the role of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and projecting it as a case of illegal land use. At a weekly media briefing on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, the extremists were clamouring for demolishing the Durga temple in Khilkhet, Dhaka. 'We understand that extremists were clamouring for demolishing the Durga temple in Khilkhet, Dhaka. The interim government, instead of providing security to the temple, projected the episode as illegal land use allowing ... and they allowed the destruction of the temple. This has resulted in damage to the deity before it was shifted. We are dismayed that such incidents continue to recur in Bangladesh. Let me underline that it is the responsibility of the interim government of Bangladesh to protect Hindus, their properties, and religious institutions,' Jaiswal said. The decision of the authorities has been condemned by several minority organisations. Earlier in May, India imposed restrictions on the entry of Bangladeshi ready-made garments (RMG) and other products through its northeastern land ports -- Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram -- and Fulbari and Changrabandha in West Bengal, following controversial remarks by Bangladesh's interim chief advisor Muhammad Yunus. During a speech in China, Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Yunus had described India's northeastern states as a 'landlocked region with no access to the ocean.' This comment has sparked diplomatic friction, with Indian officials viewing it as undermining the region's connectivity and status. The new restrictions has forced Bangladesh to reroute exports -- including Ready-Made garments (RMG), plastics, melamine, furniture, juices, carbonated drinks, bakery items, confectionery, and processed foods -- through Kolkata port in West Bengal or Nhava Sheva port in Maharashtra, increasing logistics costs. (ANI)
India Gazette
6 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Iran Foreign Minister shares his country's perspective on current situation during phone conversation with Jaishankar
New Delhi [India], June 28 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and thanked him for facilitating the safe evacuation of Indian nationals. The Iranian Minister shared his country's perspective and thinking in the current complex situation. In a post on X, Jaishankar wrote, 'Spoke to FM @araghchi of Iran this afternoon. Appreciate his sharing Iran's perspective and thinking in the current complex situation. Thanked him for facilitating the safe evacuation of Indian nationals.' India, so far, has evacuated 3,426 Indian nationals from Iran and 818 Indian nationals from Israel in Operation Sindhu, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday during a weekly briefing. 'We launched Operation Sindhu on the 18th of June. We have around 10,000 people from the Indian community in Iran, around 40,000 people in Israel who are Indian nationals.' Iran's nuclear program took serious blows in Israel's bombings since June 13, and particularly early on Sunday, when the US dropped massive bunker-buster munitions and fired missiles at three of its nuclear facilities, joining the Israeli campaign. The Israeli and American strikes targeted uranium enrichment sites and various research and development facilities tied to the program. Washington DC and Tel Aviv have asserted that the bombings caused significant damage to Iran's nuclear ambitions and set the country back considerably, Times of Israel reported. Early Tuesday morning, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel following the strikes, urging both sides 'not to violate it.' It was not immediately clear how Washington and Jerusalem intended to solidify the military achievements and prevent Iran from restarting its nuclear efforts following that announcement. Both countries confirmed the ceasefire after it was announced, but the truce appeared on the verge of collapse mere hours after its declaration, when Iran launched two missiles toward northern Israel. Israel's leaders vowed retaliation, as per the Times of Israel. Iran's ISNA news agency asserted that reports Iran had fired missiles after the ceasefire took effect were false. (ANI)
