Latest news with #PakistanIndiaRelations
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Islamabad says Indian PM's remarks about Pakistan violate norms of ‘responsible statecraft'
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani foreign office on Friday criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks in which he warned of economic and military consequences for Pakistan, saying his statement violated 'the norms of responsible statecraft.' Modi said Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights, and that Pakistan's army and economy will have to 'pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack,' upping the rhetoric in a standoff over water access. India last month said it was suspending the Indus Waters Treaty in a slew of measures after the killing of 26 people in an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, a charge Pakistan dismisses. In its response to Modi's comments at an event in Rajasthan, the Pakistani foreign office said such statements not only reflect a 'deliberate attempt to mislead the public but also violate the norms of responsible statecraft.' 'Resorting to threats and boasting about military action against a sovereign nation is a grave breach of the United Nations Charter and established principles of international law,' it said. 'This dangerous approach undermines regional peace and stability.' Any move to stop Pakistan accessing the water would have a devastating impact. The Indus treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, guarantees water for 80 percent of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India. The nuclear-armed neighbors have already clashed in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10. Islamabad maintains the treaty is legally binding and no party can unilaterally suspend it, with its Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan saying that Pakistan is willing to talk about or to address any concerns India may have. The foreign office said Pakistan remains a consistent and proactive partner in the global fight against militancy and any insinuation seeking to associate Pakistan with 'acts of terrorism is factually incorrect and patently misleading.' 'It is a tactic often employed to divert attention from India's own internal challenges, particularly its repressive policies [in Kashmir],' it said on Friday. India and Pakistan share a troubled relationship since they got independence from British rule 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. India accuses Pakistan of backing armed separatists in Kashmir. Pakistan denies this and says it only offers diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris. Pakistan's prime minister and military have also accused 'Indian terror proxies' of involvement in a suicide bomb blast on an army school bus in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province that killed five people, including three children, on Wednesday. India rejected the allegation. Both nations have retaliated since the April attack by halting trade, closing borders and suspending most visas. The Pakistani foreign office urged the Indian leadership to exercise restraint, saying such escalatory statements only exacerbate tensions. 'India should demonstrate maturity by resolving outstanding disputes through peaceful dialogue and diplomacy,' it said. 'Pakistan remains firmly committed to peaceful coexistence, regional stability, and constructive engagement. However, our desire for peace should not be misconstrued as weakness... Any misadventure or aggression will be met with a resolute and proportionate response. Pakistan has demonstrated its resolve in the past and will do so again, if required.'
Arab News
21-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan says open to talks with India after IMF flags tensions as loan risk
KARACHI: Pakistan on Tuesday hinted that it was open to 'constructive diplomatic and economic engagement' with India as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said prevailing tensions between the two archfoes had increased enterprise risks to Islamabad's ongoing loan program. The development comes days after Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the IMF should reconsider a $1 billion loan to Pakistan alleging it was 'funding terror,' a move denounced by Islamabad as proof of New Delhi's desperation. India and Pakistan this month clashed in the worst military violence in decades, killing around 70 people before agreeing a ceasefire on May 10. The conflict was sparked by an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, a charge it denies. Khurram Schehzad, adviser to Pakistan's finance minister, said the Washington-based lender had not imposed any new 'conditions' on Pakistan, which continues to pursue stability and responsible governance that supports long-term growth for itself and the region alike. 'Constructive diplomatic and economic engagement in the region, including with neighbors, remains essential,' Schehzad told Arab News, when asked about the recent developments on the fiscal front. The IMF last week approved a loan program review for Pakistan, unlocking a $1 billion payment which the State Bank of Pakistan said had been received. A fresh $1.4 billion loan was also approved under the IMF's climate resilience fund. But the lender last week said the rising India-Pakistan tensions, if sustained or deteriorated further, could heighten enterprise risks to the fiscal, external and reform goals of its $7 billion ongoing loan program for cash-strapped Pakistan. The IMF loan is vital for Pakistan which is trying to revive its debt-ridden economy that is expected to expand 2.68 percent by June, about one percent lower than the government's earlier projection. 'Yes, the IMF report identifies regional tensions as a potential risk, as is customary in such assessments,' Schehzad said, adding that at the same time, the Fund had noted that Pakistan's stocks market had reacted to the conflict modestly and retained most of its recent gains. 'We view this as a reflection of investor confidence in Pakistan's macroeconomic path.' Pakistan's stocks, which rose more than 80 percent last year, have largely resisted selling pressures in recent weeks, despite the country's conflict with India that saw the two sides strike each other with missiles, drones and artillery. Schehzad rejected the impression that Pakistan had increased its defense budget and said it remained constant at 1.9 percent of the gross domestic product this fiscal year starting in June 2024. 'The Rs2.414 trillion defense budget cited in the IMF's staff report is an absolute projection,' he said. After debt servicing, defense spending is the second biggest drain on Pakistan's revenues that the country is trying to improve by withdrawing energy subsidies and taxing incomes from agriculture, retail and real estate sectors as one of the conditions set by the IMF under its 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) secured in September. BUDGET DISCUSSIONS An IMF team is currently discussing with Pakistan the upcoming federal budget that the country is expected to unveil early next month, said IMF officials privy to the discussions, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media. The talks are expected to conclude 'this week' after which the IMF would issue a concluding statement, they told Arab News, without explaining what exactly the two sides were discussing. The IMF's latest country report, issued last week, mentioned certain structural benchmarks for Pakistan's economic reform program that Schehzad said represented the natural progression of the measures already agreed upon, when Pakistan signed the Memorandum for Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) in September. 'There are not newly introduced conditions. Each step builds logically on the foundations laid in earlier phases of the program,' he said, adding that each structural benchmark the IMF's report mentioned was part of a sequenced approach to reforms that was designed in phases and built upon progress achieved in the country's earlier reviews. Pakistan on May 9 secured the IMF board's nod for its first review that saw the release of about $1 billion to the cash-strapped country and the approval of the country's request for a 28-month, $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to cope with environmental vulnerabilities. 'These benchmarks are not surprises. They are deliberate follow-ons to earlier milestones,' Schehzad said, citing Pakistan's parliamentary approval of the next budget in line with the IMF staff agreement as a second step toward the country's goal of achieving a primary surplus of 2 percent of GDP by FY27. 'The first step was the FY25 budget [presented in June last year], which targeted a 1.0 percent surplus.' Terming several other IMF structural benchmarks as a continuation of what has been agreed upon with the lender, Schehzad said some new benchmarks were introduced in response to recent developments. 'The plan to publish a post-2027 financial sector strategy and the move to remove the cap on the debt service surcharge are based on new realities, including the recent constitutional amendment and the government's evolving energy sector reform strategy,' he said. Other reforms, according to the adviser, included phasing out incentives in Pakistan's special technology zones and industrial parks by 2035 to ensure a level-playing field, and lifting a ban on the import of used cars to reduce trade barriers was consistent with the trade liberalization goals outlined in the September 2024 MEFP. The finance adviser confirmed that the remaining 13 actions fall under the separate climate resilience-focused facility, RSF, that were approved by the IMF's executive board. 'These measures reflect Pakistan's steady and sovereign commitment to economic reform and transparency, not externally imposed demands,' he said.
Zawya
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Trump says Pakistan-India dispute is settled
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that hostilities between Pakistan and India were settled, after he urged the two countries to focus on trade instead of war. He told U.S. troops at a base in Qatar during a Gulf tour that Pakistan and India were happy with that. The nuclear-armed neighbours halted their worst fighting in nearly three decades after agreeing to a ceasefire on Saturday, following diplomacy and pressure from the United States. (Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Gram Slattery, Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Arab News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan PM reaffirms commitment to ceasefire with India in meeting with Azerbaijani envoy
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to a ceasefire understanding with India during a meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador Khazar Farhadov, while also warning that the country remained ready to defend its sovereignty in case of future aggression. The meeting came days after cross-border hostilities between Pakistan and India were brought to a halt under a ceasefire agreement announced by US President Donald Trump. According to state media, Sharif described the development as consistent with Pakistan's peaceful posture. 'Pakistan is a peace-loving nation and in this spirit, agreed to accept the ceasefire understanding with India,' Sharif said, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). He also praised the armed forces for the successful conduct of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, calling it a 'historic victory' for the nation. The prime minister also thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan for their 'unwavering solidarity' during the recent tensions, calling it a reflection of the 'enduring friendship' between the two countries. Pakistan and Azerbaijan maintain close political and defense ties, with expanding cooperation in energy, trade and investment. Sharif described Aliyev's visit to Islamabad in July 2024 as a key milestone, followed by his own visit to Baku in February, which helped open new avenues of bilateral collaboration. Ambassador Farhadov congratulated the prime minister and the Pakistani nation on the success of the military operation and reaffirmed his country's support for regional peace. He said President Aliyev placed high importance on bilateral relations and expressed commitment to enhancing cooperation across all areas of mutual interest.
ABC News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Water tensions build between India and Pakistan as Indus treaty suspended
India has suspended a water-sharing treaty with Pakistan and fast-tracked the construction of four new hydropower projects on rivers flowing into its neighbour, alarming international legal experts and provoking a sharp response from Islamabad. India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty came less than 24 hours after a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir last month. Citing security concerns, New Delhi halted its participation in the treaty — prompting Pakistan to condemn the move as "an act of war". "This is the first time it has been suspended in its history," said Ayesha Malik, deputy director at the Lahore-based Research Society of International Law. The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank after India cut off water supplies to Pakistan in the wake of the partition of India, is considered a cornerstone of trans-boundary water diplomacy. It governs rivers that sustain around 300 million people, irrigates vast farmland in Pakistan, and supplies hydropower infrastructure in Indian-administered Kashmir. Ms Malik warned that this was far more than a diplomatic tit-for-tat. Delhi-based political analyst Anuttama Banerji emphasised that the treaty was originally designed to keep water issues separate from political or military tensions. The first major rupture came in 2016 after a terrorist attack on Indian soldiers in Uri. "That's when the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] first put the idea on the table that the treaty should be scrapped," Ms Malik told the ABC. "Blood and water cannot flow together," India Prime Minister Narendra Modi famously declared following the 2016 attack and repeated it in an address to the nation after the recent attack. The treaty allocates three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India, and three western ones — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan. The treaty has withstood several wars, but tensions have been steadily rising. In 2017, India completed the Kishanganga dam in Kashmir and moved ahead with the Ratle hydro-electric project on the Chenab River — despite Pakistan's objections to the dam designs and a pending dispute with the World Bank over whether there were violations to the treaty. In January 2023, India escalated matters further by formally requesting a modification of the treaty, citing population growth, climate change and energy needs, before last month's suspension. "Any modification requires mutual consent — and India has sidestepped that entirely with its suspension." Medha Bisht, a senior assistant professor in the Department of International Relations at the South Asian University, said India's pause may be a calculated form of leverage. "Every country looks at what options it has [during such conflicts]. This seemed like a legally safe option," Ms Bisht told the ABC. "India wasn't terminating the treaty — because it can't — but it was putting it into abeyance." She said that India believed Pakistan had not been acting in good faith over the years. "Pakistan treated nearly every Indian project which was designed on the western rivers as an opportunity to internationalise the dispute." As a result, "India grew increasingly frustrated that most of these projects, which it believes were within its rights, kept getting stalled." Experts warn India is now using water for political purposes. "Today the issue of Kashmir for India, in my opinion, is more related to the water issue as opposed to the issue of identity alone," Ms Banerji told the ABC. Under the treaty, India is allowed to build hydro-electric projects as long as water continues to flow freely into Pakistan. The four dam projects India is currently constructing are all on the Chenab River (whose waters are mainly meant for Pakistan) in India-administered Kashmir. "There's never been a restriction on building hydro-electric power projects," said Uzair Sattar, a former research associate with the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center. But he cautioned that violations arise when India changes the infrastructure around dams to enable more storage. Such infrastructure, he explained, could also allow India to "divert water to other tributaries" and control when and how much water reached Pakistan — especially during crucial winter months for crop cycles. Ms Malik said suspending the treaty also gave India greater control, allowing it to stop sharing water flow data and flush dam sediment at will. Previously, such flushing, which results in a significant release of water downstream, was only permitted during peak monsoon season to avoid disrupting Pakistan's irrigation. She argues the dams could become strategic assets in future conflicts if built without Pakistani input. Legal experts say Pakistan still has legal avenues under the treaty. It can appeal to the World Bank, request arbitration, or seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice. But each option is slow and politically sensitive. Previous disputes over projects like the Kishanganga dam were settled by international panels that allowed construction but imposed minimum flow requirements. Now, with the treaty suspended, even those safeguards may be void. "India is planning a whole caravan of hydropower projects," Ms Malik said. "Without the treaty's dispute resolution mechanisms, nothing is stopping them from altering flows in ways that could severely harm Pakistan," she warned. Pakistan's dependence on the Indus is profound. Mr Sattar from the Stimson Center said he was concerned about the precedent being set. "This is a conflict over terrorism between two nuclear powers, with water as a secondary source of leverage — which is very worrying. "But if the world accepts that a country can unilaterally suspend a water-sharing treaty, it could open the door for future conflicts where water is the primary issue, especially under climate stress." Despite rising tensions, some experts see potential for water to act as a peace-building tool. "There's a concept called issue linkage," said Ms Malik. "You tie water cooperation to climate finance or energy deals like the Iran-Pakistan pipeline." But trust, she added, was running dry. Ms Bisht warned that while governments debate, the fallout hits people — and ecosystems. "The treaty saw water as just H2O. But it's biodiversity, wetlands, sediments," she said. "It's not just food security — it's nutrition. "India may want reform, but execution is everything."
