Strong reservations over Indian hydel projects: FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has strong reservations about some hydel projects initiated by India, said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit on Thursday. Referring to violations of the Indus Basin Treaty, Abdul Basit, in his weekly press briefing, said that Pakistan would like water disputes to be settled in accordance with the mechanism contained in the treaty.

He said that the United States will vigorously expand and diversify cooperation with Pakistan. Deliberating on the US-India Strategic dialogue and its possible repercussions for Pakistan, he said that Washington had taken Islamabad into confidence on the matter. He added that Pakistan hoped that the US-India relations would be a stabilising factor.

Referring to India’s role in Afghanistan, the spokesman said that Pakistan had always maintained that relations between the two countries should not be at the cost of Pakistan’s security. Acknowledging that there was a trust deficit between Pakistan and India, he said that this was the reason the two countries should resume talks.

He said that the foreign ministers of the two countries would meet in Islamabad on July 15 “with sincerity of purpose”. He hoped that the engagement would lead to “a sustained and meaningful dialogue process so that the two countries can free the region of conflicts and disputes. “In this context, settlement of disputes is very important”.

About the drone attacks on Pakistani soil, the spokesman said, “These attacks are a violation of our sovereignty and not helpful in the context of winning hearts and minds, which is important for defeating terrorism.” He said that the US and Pakistan’s views differed on the issue and the two countries are working to find a mutually acceptable arrangement to counter terrorism more effectively.

Commenting on a Washington Post story about the possibility of United States carrying out unilateral strikes inside Pakistan, he said that the news report was baseless. “Pakistan and the US have been working to intensify bilateral cooperation in the context of counter terrorism including sharing of real-time intelligence,” he said.

The spokesman said that the United States had never conveyed anything of the sort, directly or indirectly, to Pakistan as suggested by the Post. He said: “Our armed forces and security and law-enforcing forces have been doing a great job in the context of terrorism and people of Pakistan have also rendered enormous sacrifices.”

He said that Pakistan is facing numerous challenges, but the government and the people are determined to defeat terrorism.

Regarding any foreign pressure on Pakistan to launch a military operation in southern Punjab, the spokesman said: “Pakistan decides on its own and any decision to take action anywhere would be taken in the larger interest of the country.”

He said that the government and the people of Pakistan are actively working for the safe return of three nationals from Israel.

He said that at the instance of Pakistan and other members of the OIC, the Human Rights Council in Geneva has adopted a resolution demanding sending an international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law by Israel.

He said the OIC countries would further pursue this objective.

The spokesman said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is now in Brussels to attend the second Pakistan-EU summit scheduled to be held on Friday. The prime minister will meet the President of the EU Parliament and heads of parliamentary committees. He will also meet the Belgian prime minister, he said.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2010.