Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday informed the National Assembly that provocative statements and actions of Indian leadership on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) were violation of international laws and breach of the treaty.

To a call attention notice, Aziz said revocation of the treaty by India “can be taken as an act of war”. He also said Pakistan would not accept Indian aggression in any form and any step for disrupting water flow as upper riparian would be considered as an act of war.

The advisor warned that Pakistan would “react befittingly” if India attempted to violate the treaty. Pakistan would not accept Indian pressure and continue to highlight human rights violations perpetrated by Indian forces in India-held Kashmir (IHK), Aziz told the legislators.

There was no provision of suspension in the treaty, Aziz said, adding that India could not revoke the treaty unilaterally. The advisor pointed out that the treaty was not even suspended during wars between the two countries.

He said India was under immense pressure as Pakistan raised voice on grave human rights violations in IHK. He explained the provisions of treaty and said as per Sub Provision 3 and 4 of Provisions of Article 12 the treaty cannot be altered or revoked unilaterally.

According to international law and provisions of the IWT, he said, India could not unilaterally revoke the treaty as it would not only undermine India’s international standing, but also pertain to considerable risk of war and hostilities. Such an Indian act may also provide China with a justification to consider suspension of water of Indian River Brahmaputra. India has already damaged its credentials by even considering revocation of IWT and disrupting water flow into Pakistan.

To a question, he said the government is preparing a comprehensive dossier on Kulbhushan Yadev and Indian interference in Balochistan as well as its operations through Afghanistan.

This Indian act can be taken as a breach of international peace and hence giving Pakistan a good reason to approach the United Nations Security Council on this issue.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution moved by Pakistan People’s Party leader Naveed Qamar condemning Indian claim in the UNGA that “Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so”.

The resolution was also supported by the government.

The resolution said Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her speech at the UNGA ignored the fact that Jammu and Kashmir was still on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council, and that IHK was universally accepted as a disputed territory. The resolution also said the Modi government had a history of threats and holds ‘the misguided belief’ that Pakistan would move away from extending support to the Kashmiris.

The resolution stated that Kashmir was a disputed area between Pakistan and India, while Balochistan was an internal matter of Pakistan. “This House condemns the statement of Indian PM Narendra Modi on Indus Water Treaty and of Indian external affairs minister at the UN General Assembly that Kashmir was an integral part of India,” the resolution read.

It also read that the Modi government had been threatening Pakistan, but Pakistan would not stop supporting the Kashmiris. Dialogue was the only solution to settle all the disputes and not aggression, Pakistan was in favour of maintaining good relations among its neighbours, the resolution maintained.

Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah demanded convening a joint parliamentary session to discuss the Kashmir issue in the wake of belligerent statements issued by Indian leadership. He said further the issue had acquired importance due to increased atrocities by the Indian forces in IHK.