ISLAMABAD, Dec 19: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday accused India of consistently attempting to undermine the Indus Waters Treaty, claiming the current material breaches strike at the heart of the pact.
Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister, was addressing the media a day after Pakistan sought clarification from India regarding variations in the flow of the Chenab river.
“We witnessed in April this year India’s unilateral abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty… But what we are witnessing now is material breaches by India that strike at the heart of the Indus Waters Treaty with escalating consequences both for regional stability and the sanctity of international law,” he said.
A day after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the 1960 vintage Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in “abeyance.”
The IWT, brokered by the World Bank, has governed the distribution and use of the Indus river and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960.
Dar also mentioned that “India’s manipulation of water” has prompted Pakistan’s Indus Commissioner to write a letter to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification on the matter.
He also alleged manipulation of Indus basin waters at a critical time of agricultural cycle directly threatens the life and livelihood in Pakistan.
The minister said India had halted sharing information, hydrological data, and joint oversight required by the treaty, which had exposed Pakistan to floods and droughts.
He warned that suspension of water will be considered as an act of war. (Agencies)
