New Delhi: Pakistan, which frequently faces global embarrassment over the Jammu and Kashmir issue, refuses to mend its ways. While it often issues empty threats about separating Jammu and Kashmir from India, the country is itself grappling with internal disarray. Pakistan has now issued a startling statement regarding the Indus Waters Treaty.
It has accused India of adopting an improper attitude. Ahsan Iqbal, a minister in the Pakistani government, stated that India is the upstream nation from which rivers flow into Pakistan and is attempting to weaponise this advantage against Pakistan. Iqbal also remarked that India plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning and stability of South Asia.
During an event, Iqbal was asked about India’s decision regarding the Indus Waters Treaty. Responding to this, Iqbal, who serves as the Minister for Planning and Development in the Shehbaz Sharif government, said that Pakistan faces a clear threat: India could use water as a weapon to withhold supplies during times of need.
Pakistan acknowledges India’s pivotal role.
Senior Pakistani minister Ahsan Iqbal stated that India is vital for regional stability and peace, particularly in South Asia. He noted that India lies at the very heart of the region, with all other nations situated around it; consequently, India’s role is critical to the functioning of South Asia.
He further added that India should not take steps that could jeopardise stability. Iqbal levelled several other serious allegations against India regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, holding the country responsible for the floods that struck Punjab in August.
At that time, Iqbal had claimed that India was using water as a potent weapon, alleging that the release of water into the Ravi and Sutlej rivers by India had caused flooding in Pakistan’s Punjab province and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Indus Waters Treaty suspended.
India had suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. The Indus Waters Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, establishing an arrangement for the sharing of river waters between the two nations. Consequently, the suspension of the treaty has raised the spectre of a water crisis for Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has taken the issue of the Indus Treaty to the Court of Arbitration and has also raised it at the UN Security Council. Pakistan is simultaneously attempting to mobilise global pressure on India regarding this matter. India has maintained the consistent stance that the treaty cannot be restored; amid this, Pakistan continues to engage in hostile rhetoric against India over the issue.
