Pakistan warns India against unilateral plan to modify Indus Water Treaty

Foreign minister urges World Bank to play its due role in resolving the issue

Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif warned India on Tuesday against devising a unilateral plan to modify the terms of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty between Islamabad and New Delhi.

“Pakistan is fulfilling its share of responsibility with respect to Indus Water Treaty,” Asif said while addressing a seminar on “Indus Water Treaty: Issues and Recommendations” organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.

“Any unilateral plan by India aimed at modifying the terms of the treaty will not be acceptable to Pakistan.”



The foreign minister went on to say that the government had already conveyed its reservations regarding the construction of hydro-electric and storage projects by India. “India has been displaying belligerence by designing water projects that violate the treaty,” Radio Pakistan quoted Asif as saying.

The minister urged the World Bank to play its due role in resolving the issue, claiming New Delhi was deliberately delaying the negotiations.

“Pakistan has always expressed its willingness to resolve all issues with India including the water distribution problem through dialogue,” he maintained.



The treaty between Pakistan and India was signed by President Ayub Khan and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on September 19, 1960. Touted as a milestone in the history of international water diplomacy, the treaty is a 57-year-old accord between the two neighbours on how to share water from the rivers that flow through their territory.