Indus waters treaty at center of India-Pakistan conflict

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Water Resources, Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, has said that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) suspension will be a part of the agenda of the talks with India, scheduled for Monday

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Water Resources, Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, has said that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) suspension will be a part of the agenda of the talks with India, scheduled for Monday.

After 48 hours of military escalation by Pakistan, and later a US-brokered ceasefire understanding, DGMOs (Director General Military Operations) of both sides will have first contact and communication on Monday.

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Watto, while speaking to media persons, said that Pakistan will be bringing forward the IWT suspension during the DGMO level meeting, which had stopped in the past few days, adding that a formal legal notice to India is also being served.

“Pakistan will address all issues, including the Indus Waters Treaty suspension with India, tomorrow during the communication. We are also ready to serve a formal legal notice to India over the Indus Waters Treaty as well,” he said.

“Constitutional and legal consultations in response to India’s recent announcement regarding the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty have been completed,” he added.

Sources confirmed that Pakistan would serve a legal notice to India over IWT through diplomatic channels within the next few days.

“The official communication will demand concrete justifications from India for its unilateral suspension of the treaty,” the source stated.

India had suspended the IWT following the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 innocent civilians.

India has issued a notification to its Pakistani counterpart explaining the reasons for suspending the IWT highlighting the significantly altered population demographics, the urgent need to expedite the development of clean energy, and shifts in the assumptions related to water sharing under the IWT as fundamental changes that have led to its decision to suspend its treaty obligations.

Additionally, during a recent media briefing in New Delhi on Operation Sindoor, which India carried out against terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “There have been fundamental changes in the circumstances in which the Indus Waters Treaty was concluded, and they called for a reassessment of the obligations under the treaty.”

“Over the last year-and-a-half to two years, India has been in communication with the government of Pakistan, we sent several notices to them requesting negotiations to discuss the modification of this treaty. India has for six-plus decades now honoured the treaty, even during periods when Pakistan imposed multiple wars on us,” he had said.