At the UN Glaciers Meetings, India slams Pakistan for violating the Indus Water Treaty through terrorism

New Delhi (India) June 1: Kirti Vardhan Singh, the state minister of environment, forests, and climate change, said during his speech at the Plenary Session of the High-Level International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation on Saturday that India strongly opposes and criticises Pakistan's attempt to use the International Glacier Conference in Tajikistan "to bring in unwarranted references to issues which do not fall within the purview of the forum."

India has defended its decision to suspend the 1960 treaty after the Pahalgam terrorist attack by saying that Pakistan had broken the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) through "unrelenting cross-border terrorism".

Singh said that even though the treaty's preamble stated that it was concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship and that honouring the treaty in good faith was essential, Pakistan's cross-border terrorism restricted its implementation. Singh strongly criticised Pakistan's attempt to misuse the forum by bringing up IWT issues.

Singh said, "We are appalled at the attempt by Pakistan to misuse the forum and to bring in unwarranted references to issues which do not fall within the purview of the forum. We strongly condemned such an attempt."

He added, “Pakistan, which itself is in violation of the treaty, should desist from putting the blame of the breach of the treaty on India."

The comments were made during the Glaciers' Preservation conference in Dushanbe after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of using water as a weapon.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that his nation would not allow India to cross the line by putting millions of lives in danger and holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in order to pursue its own political agenda.

India has dismissed PM Shehbaz Sharif’s claims and said that Islamabad's backing for cross-border terrorism is the true barrier to the Indus Waters Treaty's implementation.

This is the first time that India and Pakistan have discussed the Indus Waters Treaty in an international conference.On April 23, India decided to put the treaty on hold in response to a terrorist incident in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

India had launched a number of retaliatory actions against Pakistan after terrorists killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22. One of these actions included the suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

Aadrika Tayal