By Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday offered a severe rebuke of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s “brazen disregard” for global agreements after the latter said India would never restore the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan.
On April 23, Delhi unilaterally suspended its participation in the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the use of the Indus river system, following the deaths of 26 civilians in India-held Kashmir.
Delhi accused Islamabad of orchestrating the attack without providing evidence, while Islamabad rejected the claims and demanded an impartial investigation. Despite a ceasefire agreed upon last month by the two nuclear-armed neighbors after their heaviest clashes in decades, the treaty remains inactive.
“No, it will never be restored,” Shah told The Times of India earlier. “We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably.”
Responding to Shah’s comments, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said they showed “a brazen disregard for the sanctity of international agreements” and noted that the IWT is an apolitical agreement without provisions for unilateral action.
“India’s illegal announcement to hold the treaty in abeyance constitutes a clear violation of international law, the provisions of the treaty itself, and the fundamental principles governing inter-state relations,” the FO stated.
“Such conduct sets a reckless and dangerous precedent — one that undermines the credibility of international agreements and raises serious questions about the reliability and trustworthiness of a state that openly refuses to fulfil its legal obligations.”
The FO added that “weaponising water for political ends” is irresponsible and contrary to the behaviour of a responsible state. It demanded that India immediately restore the full implementation of the IWT.
“For its part, Pakistan remains firmly committed to the treaty and will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and entitlements under it,” the statement concluded.
Addressing a crowd of supporters on Friday night, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had said that New Delhi must accept the IWT, warning that if it refused to honour the treaty, “we will fight another war and take all six rivers. We know how to defend our rivers.”
