Latest news with #PakistanIndiaRelations
Arab News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan urges India to abide by Indus Waters Treaty after world court's supplemental award
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday urged India to restore the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which ensures water for 80 percent Pakistani farms, and fulfil its obligations, days after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) announced a supplemental award on the proceedings instituted by Pakistan against India over Indus waters. India announced it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty in abeyance a day after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, an allegation Islamabad denies. Pakistan has previously said the treaty has no provision for one side to unilaterally pull back and that any blocking of river water flowing to Pakistan will be considered 'an act of war.' In its supplemental award on the proceedings instituted by Pakistan against India over two hydroelectric projects, the court ruled on June 27 that India's decision of holding the IWT in abeyance did not deprive the court of its competence to adjudicate Pakistan's complaints against its neighbor. Pakistan has opposed some of hydroelectric projects by India, saying they violate the World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus waters. In response to the supplemental award announced by the Court of Arbitration, Pakistan's Foreign Office said the court found hearing the Pakistan-India dispute over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects found that it has a continuing responsibility to advance these proceedings in a timely, efficient and fair manner. 'The Court of Arbitration decided to announce this supplemental award in the wake of India's illegal and unilateral announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance,' the Pakistani Foreign Office said in a statement. 'The award vindicates Pakistan's position that the Indus Waters Treaty remains valid and operational, and that India has no right to take a unilateral action about it. We urge India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty, and fulfil its treaty obligations, wholly and faithfully.' Last week, the PCA said it had previously found that once a proceeding before a court of arbitration is properly initiated, as in the present case, 'there must be a strong presumption against the incidental loss of jurisdiction over the matters placed before it by subsequent acts, such as the appointment of a neutral expert.' Weeks after India's suspension of the treaty, the court issued a procedural order on May 16 and requested the parties to provide written submissions on the effect, if any, of these recent developments before the court. Pakistan filed written submissions and no submissions were filed by India, but the court said it had considered New Delhi's position. 'The current phase of the proceedings before the Court concerns the overall interpretation and application of the Treaty's provisions on hydro-electric project design and operation, as well as the legal effect of past decisions of dispute resolution bodies under the Treaty,' it said. 'Accordingly, the text of the Treaty, read in light of its object and purpose, does not to allow either Party, acting unilaterally, to hold in abeyance or suspend an ongoing dispute settlement process.' Under the IWT, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers subject to specific criteria for design and operation. The pact also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers. On July 6, 2023, the PCA had issued its award on competence after considering India's objections. In a unanimous decision, the court had ruled that it was competent to consider and determine the disputes set forth in Pakistan's request for arbitration in the case. Pakistan had initiated the present arbitral proceedings before the court on August 19, 2016. The South Asian neighbors have been arguing over hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus river and its tributaries for decades, with Pakistan complaining that India's planned hydropower dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture. The PCA noted on Friday that the principal issue concerned the implications, if any, that India's decision to hold the treaty in 'abeyance' may have on the competence of the court. 'Paragraph 16 of Annexure G to the Treaty provides that '[s]ubject to the provisions of this Treaty and except as the Parties may otherwise agree, the Court shall decide all questions relating to its competence',' the PCA said. 'Accordingly, the Court found that it was for the Court — and the Court alone — to answer the question before it.' New Delhi's halting of the water agreement was one of a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures taken by both countries in the immediate aftermath of the April 22 attack in Kashmir, which resulted in a four-day military conflict between the neighbors in May.
Arab News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan tells UK lawmakers it wants Indus Waters Treaty revived amid India tensions
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani parliamentary delegation visiting key global capitals in the wake of last month's military standoff with India told British lawmakers Islamabad remains committed to ensuring the revival of the Indus Waters Treaty and promoting regional peace, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. The outreach comes after India and Pakistan engaged in their most intense military exchange in years, sparking fears of a full-scale war under a nuclear overhang. Over four days in May, both sides exchanged missile strikes, launched drone attacks and engaged in air combat before a US-brokered ceasefire was announced by President Donald Trump on May 10. The crisis was triggered by a militant attack that killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi blamed the assault on Pakistan-based elements, an allegation Islamabad denied, instead calling for an independent international probe. As tensions escalated, the global community moved swiftly to defuse the situation. Before launching its military strikes, India took several punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspending a decades-old, World Bank-backed water-sharing treaty between the two countries. 'The High-Level Parliamentary delegation from Pakistan, led by the Chairman of Pakistan People's Party and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, briefed the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pakistan during a meeting hosted by APPG Chair Yasmin Qureshi MP at Westminster Palace, which was attended by cross-party British parliamentarians,' the statement said. 'The delegation underscored Pakistan's commitment to restraint, revival of the Indus Waters Treaty and initiation of a composite dialogue between the two countries on all outstanding issues, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.' According to the statement, Bhutto-Zardari briefed lawmakers on the consequences of what he described as India's unprovoked aggression, including violations of Pakistan's sovereignty in the aftermath of the attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. He rejected India's allegations against Pakistan as baseless, saying they lacked credible investigation or verifiable evidence. He further warned India's unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty violated international law and could have serious implications for regional and global peace. Pakistan's Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Malik also addressed the session, highlighting the environmental and food security risks of disrupting the treaty. He warned the suspension threatened the survival of Pakistan's 240 million people, most of whom rely on agriculture. The delegation also emphasized Pakistan's military response to the Indian actions was measured and consistent with international law, including the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Arab News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan reiterates desire to resolve outstanding issues with India via dialogue
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday reiterated his country's desire to resolve its outstanding issues with India, state-run media reported, as tensions simmer between the two neighbors following their armed conflict last month. India and Pakistan engaged in the worst fighting between the two countries since 1999, raising fears of the prospects of an all-out nuclear war. After both countries traded heavy fire for four days, pounding each other with missiles, fighter jets and drone strikes, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between them on May 10. Speaking to his Malaysian counterpart Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the phone, Sharif thanked him for Kuala Lumpur's 'support and balanced stance' during Pakistan's conflict with India. 'The prime minister underscored that Pakistan had always strived for regional peace and stability,' state-run Radio Pakistan said. 'He reiterated that Pakistan was ready for dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.' Sharif separately wrote on social media account X that he looks forward to Islamabad and Kuala Lumpur deepening and strengthening their bilateral ties. 'I greatly look forward to my visit to Malaysia later this year,' he wrote. Had a warm and most cordial telephone conversation with my brother, Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim @anwaribrahim of Malaysia. We exchanged Eid-ul-Adha greetings and prayed for unity in the Ummah and peace in Gaza. I thanked Malaysia for its principled stance during the… — Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 7, 2025 India and Pakistan, bitter rivals since they gained independence in 1947 from British rule, have fought two out of three wars over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Both countries administer Kashmir in parts but claim the region entirely. Pakistan accuses India of occupying Kashmir and denying its people their right to self-determination. It regularly calls on India to abide by the United Nations Security Council resolutions and hold a transparent plebiscite in the territory. India, on the other hand, accuses Pakistan of arming and funding militant separatists in the part of Kashmir it administers. Islamabad has denied the allegations and says it extends only diplomatic and moral support to the people of Indian-administered Kashmir.
Al Arabiya
04-06-2025
- General
- Al Arabiya
Pakistan open, ‘not desperate' for talks with arch-rival India: FM
Pakistan is 'ready but not desperate' for talks with arch-rival India, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, in remarks that underline the lack of a thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbors following their worst military conflict in decades. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery last month in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before agreeing to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10. 'Whenever they ask for a dialogue, at whatever level, we are ready but we are not desperate,' Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a news conference in Islamabad. The spark for the recent fighting between the old enemies was an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on 'terrorists' backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. Dar said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues including water, whereas India wanted to focus only on terrorism. 'That's not on. Nobody else is more serious than us. It takes two to tango,' he said, referring to comments by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the talks should only cover the issue of terrorism. The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dar's remarks. New Delhi has previously said that terrorism and dialogue cannot go hand in hand. Pakistan is keen to discuss water rights after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 attack. The treaty guarantees water for 80 percent of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Islamabad says Indian PM's remarks about Pakistan violate norms of ‘responsible statecraft'
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani foreign office on Friday criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks in which he warned of economic and military consequences for Pakistan, saying his statement violated 'the norms of responsible statecraft.' Modi said Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights, and that Pakistan's army and economy will have to 'pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack,' upping the rhetoric in a standoff over water access. India last month said it was suspending the Indus Waters Treaty in a slew of measures after the killing of 26 people in an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, a charge Pakistan dismisses. In its response to Modi's comments at an event in Rajasthan, the Pakistani foreign office said such statements not only reflect a 'deliberate attempt to mislead the public but also violate the norms of responsible statecraft.' 'Resorting to threats and boasting about military action against a sovereign nation is a grave breach of the United Nations Charter and established principles of international law,' it said. 'This dangerous approach undermines regional peace and stability.' Any move to stop Pakistan accessing the water would have a devastating impact. The Indus treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, guarantees water for 80 percent of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India. The nuclear-armed neighbors have already clashed in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10. Islamabad maintains the treaty is legally binding and no party can unilaterally suspend it, with its Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan saying that Pakistan is willing to talk about or to address any concerns India may have. The foreign office said Pakistan remains a consistent and proactive partner in the global fight against militancy and any insinuation seeking to associate Pakistan with 'acts of terrorism is factually incorrect and patently misleading.' 'It is a tactic often employed to divert attention from India's own internal challenges, particularly its repressive policies [in Kashmir],' it said on Friday. India and Pakistan share a troubled relationship since they got independence from British rule in 1947, and have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part. India accuses Pakistan of backing armed separatists in Kashmir. Pakistan denies this and says it only offers diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris. Pakistan's prime minister and military have also accused 'Indian terror proxies' of involvement in a suicide bomb blast on an army school bus in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province that killed five people, including three children, on Wednesday. India rejected the allegation. Both nations have retaliated since the April attack by halting trade, closing borders and suspending most visas. The Pakistani foreign office urged the Indian leadership to exercise restraint, saying such escalatory statements only exacerbate tensions. 'India should demonstrate maturity by resolving outstanding disputes through peaceful dialogue and diplomacy,' it said. 'Pakistan remains firmly committed to peaceful coexistence, regional stability, and constructive engagement. However, our desire for peace should not be misconstrued as weakness... Any misadventure or aggression will be met with a resolute and proportionate response. Pakistan has demonstrated its resolve in the past and will do so again, if required.'
