ISLAMABAD: Prime minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz said on Tuesday that any Indian violation in the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) would pertain to considerable risk of war and hostilities between the two countries.
“Pakistan will not accept Indian aggression in any form and any Indian step for disrupting water flow as upper riparian will pertain to considerable risk of war and hostilities,” Sartaj said in the National Assembly.
According to Sartaj, India is ‘feeling the heat’ by Pakistan’s diplomatic onslaught of raising the voice against its human rights violation in Indian-Held Kashmir (IHK) and supporting the Kashmiri’s right to self-determination – in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
He said that according to the sub-provision 3 and 4 of provisions of article 12 of IWT, the treaty cannot be altered or revoked unilaterally. The treaty shall continue to be in force – until modified by both the countries after an understanding – as it is for an indefinite period and is not time specific or event specific.
“India has already damaged its credentials by even considering the revocation of IWT and disrupting water flow into Pakistan,” Sartaj said.
Sartaj said that there was also an arbitration mechanism provided in the IWT to resolve the disputes within its mechanism and according to international laws, India cannot unilaterally revoke the treaty as it will not only undermine India’s international standing but also pertain to considerable risk of war and hostilities.
The advisor said that if India tried to interrupt Pakistani water flow, it will not only violate the treaty but also set a regional state practice under which an international law can serve precedence for others. Such an Indian act may also provide China with a justification to consider suspension of water of Indian River Brahmaputra.
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