Key points
- Pakistan’s deputy PM criticises India for “illegally” suspending 65-year-old water-sharing treaty
- It is most regrettable that India has chosen to illegally and unilaterally hold this treaty in abeyance: Dar
- Indus Waters Treaty remained a “noteworthy example of dialogue and diplomacy”: Dar
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution calling on member states to use peaceful means, including negotiation, mediation, and judicial settlement, to resolve disputes, as Pakistan stated that India is undermining a landmark water-sharing agreement.
According to Arab News, signed in 1960 with World Bank mediation, the Indus Waters Treaty governs the distribution of the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed neighbors with a history of conflict.
Despite strained bilateral relations over the decades, the treaty has been regarded as one of the most resilient diplomatic frameworks in South Asia, the newspaper said.
“Example of diplomacy”
Speaking at the UNSC’s open debate, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty remained a “noteworthy example of dialogue and diplomacy working for peacefully arriving at a water-sharing arrangement between two neighbors.”
“The treaty has withstood periods of trials and tribulations in bilateral relations,” Dar said.
Peaceful dispute resolution
“It is most unfortunate and regrettable that India has chosen to illegally and unilaterally hold this treaty in abeyance on baseless grounds with the intention of withholding the flow of water to 240 million people of Pakistan, who rely on it for their livelihood and survival,” Arab News cited Ishaq Dar as saying.
Dar’s remarks came as the Security Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the importance of peaceful dispute resolution mechanisms, with all 15 of the Council’s members voting in favor.
The resolution encourages states to make full use of existing mechanisms such as “negotiation, mediation, arbitration, judicial settlement or other peaceful means,” in accordance with the UN Charter.
