PNN: Pakistan on Saturday cautioned New Delhi against unilateral moves on the Indus Waters Treaty, dismissing Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks as “irresponsible” and accusing India of diverting attention from its destabilising actions in the region.
In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said the landmark water-sharing agreement was an international treaty concluded “in good faith and at considerable cost”, stressing that any violation would undermine regional stability and India’s credibility as a state that claims to respect international law.
“Any unilateral violation of the treaty by India would undermine regional stability and call into question its credibility as a state that claims to respect international legal obligations. Pakistan will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights under the treaty,” the FO said.
The warning comes after remarks reported by Indian media in which Jaishankar accused Pakistan of being a “bad neighbour” and sought to link the IWT to allegations of terrorism.
Speaking on Friday, he was quoted by The Hindu as saying: “You can also have bad neighbours … unfortunately, we do. When you have bad neighbours … if you look to the one to the West if a country decides that they will deliberately, persistently, unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people against terrorism.”
Referring to the Indus Waters Treaty, Jaishankar further said: “Many years ago we agreed to a water-sharing arrangement the belief was it was gesture of goodwill because of good neighbourliness we were doing it … but if you have decades of terrorism there is no good neighbourliness and you don’t get the benefit of good neighbourliness.”
“You can’t say … Please share water with me but I will continue terrorism that’s not reconcilable,” he added.
Rejecting these assertions, the FO said, “Pakistan firmly rejects the irresponsible assertions made by the Indian external affairs minister. Once again, India seeks to deflect attention from its own troubling record as a neighbour that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability.”
The FO said India’s “documented involvement in promoting terrorist activities in the region, particularly in Pakistan, is well known,” citing the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav as “a stark example of organised, state-sponsored terrorism directed against Pakistan.”
“Equally concerning are recurring instances of extraterritorial killings, sabotage through proxies, and covert support to terrorist networks. This pattern is consistent with the extremist ideology of Hindutva and its violent proponents,” the FO said.
The statement also reaffirmed Pakistan’s position on Jammu and Kashmir. “India continues its illegal and violent military occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to extend full political, moral, and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle to realise their right to self-determination, as enshrined in relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”