Pakistan’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar on Monday sought Canada’s support for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty between New Delhi and Islamabad.
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 is a World Bank-brokered agreement between India and Pakistan that governs the sharing of the waters of the six rivers of the Indus basin, allocating the eastern rivers to India and the western rivers largely to Pakistan.
Addressing a joint press conference with Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand in Islamabad, Dar said India had “added a new dynamic into an already volatile security situation” by putting the agreement in abeyance. “We seek the support of our friendly countries, including Canada, towards India’s immediate restoration of the IWT, ending the weaponisation of water and upholding international law and treaty obligations as per international law and practices,” Dar said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said last year that “blood and water cannot flow together,” asserting that the treaty would remain in abeyance until Islamabad takes credible and verifiable action against terrorist groups operating from its territory. Earlier, Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also warned India over the fallout of the Indus Waters Treaty, alleging that New Delhi was using the river as a “weapon”. Calling it Pakistan’s “lifeline”, he said people living along the rivers wanted “peace with dignity” and not “submission”. This is the message that Pakistan must deliver to India,” Bhutto had said.
“Pakistan must speak clearly. The Indus is not a pressure point. The Indus is not a bargaining chip. The Indus is not a weapon to be placed in India’s hands. The Indus is a lifeline of Pakistan. And any attempt to turn that lifeline into a noose must be treated as a threat to the survival of our state.