New Delhi, September 22 (ANI): India on Tuesday strongly rejected Pakistan’s claims regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) accusing Islamabad of misrepresenting facts and propagating falsehoods for what it described as malicious propaganda.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, responding to Pakistan’s claims regarding an alleged pronouncement by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
“I would like to say that Pakistan has a habit of misrepresenting facts and propagating falsehoods to serve its malicious propaganda. For starters, the so-called ruling is not a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, as sought to be projected by the Pakistani minister. It is a ruling by an illegally constituted court. We see this as just one more attempt by Pakistan to distort reality. Our position on this issue is very clear, and we have reiterated it several times,” Jaiswal stated.
The remarks follow New Delhi’s rejection last month of an “award” issued by an arbitration panel concerning interim measures under the water-sharing pact.
Rejecting the so-called award, the MEA said the “Court of Arbitration” was established by the World Bank in what it described as a breach of the terms of the treaty.
“Today, the illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has issued what it termed as an award concerning Interim Measures and Status of the Indus Waters Treaty. This so-called Court was constituted by the World Bank in patent breach of the terms of the Treaty and India categorically rejects its so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements by this illegally constituted body,” the MEA stated on August 31.
Reiterating its legal position, the MEA said India has never recognized the existence in law of the “illegally constituted and so-called Court of Arbitration” and has consistently maintained that the creation of the alleged arbitral body violates the IWT.
“Accordingly, India has never appeared before this body and has refused to take any cognizance of its earlier pronouncements. This so-called Court of Arbitration has no jurisdiction whatsoever to pronounce on India’s sovereign decisions. Its pronouncements, now or in the future, will have no effect on India’s actions in connection with the projects being undertaken by India,” the MEA stated.
New Delhi also reaffirmed that the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty remains in force.
The water-sharing accord was signed between India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960, concerning the utilization of the waters of the Indus river system.
Following last year’s Pahalgam terror attack, India exercised what it described as its rights as a sovereign nation under international law and placed the IWT in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had earlier reiterated India’s position on the IWT in June, stating that bilateral cooperation would remain suspended until cross-border terrorism ends.
“We have suspended the Indus Waters Treaty and kept it in abeyance until Pakistan completely stops cross-border terrorism,” Jaiswal said. (ANI)
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