Latest news with #IndiaPakistanRelations
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
At Tajikistan summit, Pakistan PM urges world action over India's ‘weaponization' of Indus waters
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday drew the world's attention to India's 'weaponization' of water by suspending Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, urging the world to not let millions of lives to be held 'hostage.' India announced on April 23 that it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty in abeyance after it accused Pakistan of backing an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Islamabad has denied complicity and called for a credible, international probe into it. The IWT grants Pakistan rights to the Indus basin's western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow. India can use the western rivers for limited purposes such as power generation and irrigation, without storing or diverting large volumes, according to the agreement. Speaking at the International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation in Dushanbe, Sharif said the world must recognize that water transcends political boundaries, connects communities and sustains ecosystems and cultures, demanding world action over New Delhi's move to suspend the IWT. 'We are now witnessing an alarming new low, the weaponization of water, India's unilateral and illegal decision to hold in abeyance the Indus Water Treaty which governs the sharing of the Indus basin's water is deeply regrettable,' he said, urging that lives of millions of Pakistanis must not be held hostage to 'narrow political gains.' 'Our waters and our glaciers... bind us in a shared destiny. Let us protect and preserve nature's precious bounties for our planet and our peoples.' The IWT suspension was among a series of punitive measures India announced against Pakistan over the Kashmir attack that killed 26 people. The archfoes this month traded missile, drone and artillery fire in their worst fighting since 1999 Kargil War before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10. India has maintained its decision to keep the treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, in abeyance, while Islamabad has said it will contest the move at every forum. Sharif also urged the world to expedite its climate action to protect glacial systems, which were the lifeline of their civilization, culture and economy. He said his country witnessed firsthand the peril of glacial melt in 2022, when devastating floods submerged Pakistan, washing away standing crops over millions of acres, affecting over 30 million people and causing more billions of dollars in damages. 'We only contribute less than half percent of the total world emissions, and yet we are one of those 10 most vulnerable countries facing this menace [of climate change],' he said. 'I pray to Allah Almighty that other countries do not face this kind of devastation which we faced back in 2022, but it will not be protected through words and speeches, it requires comprehensive, a plan, and immediate implementation.' Pakistan believes in shared responsibility and collective action, according to Sharif. There is an urgent need for an enhanced global climate action to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. 'The developed countries must meet their climate financial commitments without any delay and with a balanced focus on adaptation and mitigation as well as loss and damage,' he said. 'Adequate funding for climate resilient infrastructure and overcoming financing gap remains critical for climate vulnerable countries.' Islamabad has been urging the international community to ensure faster and simpler disbursements from the global fund to help vulnerable countries respond to climate-related losses. The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) was established at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in 2022 and a year later, nearly 200 nations agreed to the operationalization of $575 million as part of it. However, disbursements under the program have since been slow, hampering climate adaptation efforts in developing countries.
Arab News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan says open to water talks with India but insists Indus treaty remains binding
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is willing to discuss water-sharing concerns with India, the country's top legal official said on Thursday, though he maintained the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty remained legally binding on both countries and could not be unilaterally suspended. Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan shared his country's perspective with Reuters over the issue in an exclusive interview after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reiterated his threat to block water flows to Pakistan. India has said it would suspend the treaty as part of a series of measures following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies the allegation and says any attempt to disrupt water access would be a breach of international obligations with severe consequences. 'Pakistan is willing to talk about or to address anything, any concerns they [the Indians] may have,' Awan said during the interview. He said India had written to Pakistan in recent weeks, citing population growth and clean energy needs as reasons to modify the treaty. But he said any discussions would have to take part under the terms of the treaty. Islamabad maintains the treaty is legally binding and no party can unilaterally suspend it, Awan said. 'As far as Pakistan is concerned, the treaty is very much operational, functional, and anything which India does, it does at its own cost and peril as far as the building of any hydroelectric power projects are concerned,' he added. Modi on Thursday ramped up pressure during a public event in Rajasthan, a state bordering Pakistan, saying: 'Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights.' 'Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack … Pakistan's army will pay it. Pakistan's economy will pay it,' he added, referencing the April 22 attack that left 26 people dead. The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, allocates water from six rivers shared by the two countries. It guarantees Pakistan access to waters that irrigate nearly 80 percent of its farmland. Awan said Pakistan would oppose any attempts to alter the treaty outside of its legal framework. The nuclear-armed neighbors had earlier engaged in their most intense military confrontation in decades before agreeing to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer in part. India accuses Pakistan of supporting Kashmiri separatists in the disputed region, a charge Pakistan denies. Tensions further escalated on Wednesday between the two countries when a suicide bombing targeted a school bus in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, killing six people, including four children. Pakistan's government and military accused 'Indian terror proxies' of orchestrating the attack, an allegation India rejected. In the fallout from the April attack, both countries have halted trade, closed borders and suspended most visa processing, deepening diplomatic and economic strains.
Arab News
22-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan will not get water over which India has rights, India PM Modi says
NEW DELHI: Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, a month after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir led New Delhi to suspend a key river water-sharing treaty between the neighbors. The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, negotiated by the World Bank in 1960, was among a slew of measures announced by India against Pakistan last month after the April 22 attack that killed 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists. New Delhi had said the attack was backed by Pakistan – an accusation Islamabad denied – and the nuclear-armed neighbors were involved in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10. 'Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack ... Pakistan's army will pay it, Pakistan's economy will pay it,' Modi said at a public event in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan. The Indus treaty provides water for 80 percent of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India but Pakistan's finance minister said this month that its suspension was not going to have 'any immediate impact.' The ceasefire between the countries has largely held, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar saying that there is no exchange of fire currently and 'there has been some repositioning of forces accordingly.' 'If there are acts of the kind we saw on April 22, there will be a response, we will hit the terrorists,' Jaishankar told Dutch news outlet NOS. 'If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are,' he added. There was no immediate response from Pakistan to comments by Modi and Jaishankar. India and Pakistan have shared a troubled relationship since they were carved out of British India in 1947, and have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part. New Delhi also blames Pakistan for supporting Islamist separatists battling security forces in its part of Kashmir, but Islamabad denies the accusation. The arch rivals have taken several measures against each other since the April attack in Kashmir, including suspension of trade, closure of land borders, and suspension of most visas.
Malay Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Modi: Pakistan must pay ‘heavy price' after Kashmir attack as India restricts water flow
NEW DELHI, May 22 — Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today, a month after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir led New Delhi to suspend a key river water-sharing treaty between the neighbours. The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, negotiated by the World Bank in 1960, was among a slew of measures announced by India against Pakistan last month after the April 22 attack that killed 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists. New Delhi had said the attack was backed by Pakistan — an accusation Islamabad denied — and the nuclear-armed neighbours were involved in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10. 'Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack ... Pakistan's army will pay it, Pakistan's economy will pay it,' Modi said at a public event in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan. The Indus treaty provides water for 80 per cent of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India but Pakistan's finance minister said this month that its suspension was not going to have 'any immediate impact'. The ceasefire between the countries has largely held, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar saying that there is no exchange of fire currently and 'there has been some repositioning of forces accordingly'. 'The (military) operation continues because there is a clear if there are acts of the kind we saw on April 22, there will be a response, we will hit the terrorists,' Jaishankar told Dutch news outlet NOS. 'If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are,' he added. There was no immediate response from Pakistan to comments by Modi and Jaishankar. Fencing along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan is pictured during a tour organised by the Indian Army for visiting journalists in north of Indian Kashmir, May 19, 2025. — Reuters pic India and Pakistan have shared a troubled relationship since they were carved out of British India in 1947, and have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part. New Delhi also blames Pakistan for supporting Islamist separatists battling security forces in its part of Kashmir, but Islamabad denies the accusation. The arch rivals have taken several measures against each other since the April attack in Kashmir, including suspension of trade, closure of land borders, and suspension of most visas. — Reuters
Al Arabiya
22-05-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Pakistan will not get water over which India has rights, India PM Modi says
Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, a month after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir led New Delhi to suspend a key river water-sharing treaty between the neighbors. The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, negotiated by the World Bank in 1960, was among a slew of measures announced by India against Pakistan last month after the April 22 attack that killed 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists. New Delhi had said the attack was backed by Pakistan – an accusation Islamabad denied – and the nuclear-armed neighbors were involved in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10. 'Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack ... Pakistan's army will pay it, Pakistan's economy will pay it,' Modi said at a public event in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan. The Indus treaty provides water for 80 percent of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India but Pakistan's finance minister said this month that its suspension was not going to have 'any immediate impact.' The ceasefire between the countries has largely held, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar saying that there is no exchange of fire currently and 'there has been some repositioning of forces accordingly.' 'The (military) operation continues because there is a clear if there are acts of the kind we saw on April 22, there will be a response, we will hit the terrorists,' Jaishankar told Dutch news outlet NOS. 'If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are,' he added. There was no immediate response from Pakistan to comments by Modi and Jaishankar. India and Pakistan have shared a troubled relationship since they were carved out of British India in 1947, and have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part. New Delhi also blames Pakistan for supporting separatists battling security forces in its part of Kashmir, but Islamabad denies the accusation. The archrivals have taken several measures against each other since the April attack in Kashmir, including suspension of trade, closure of land borders, and suspension of most visas.
