ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani official has condemned India's "malicious plans" to obstruct the water supply that Pakistan was promised under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty and urged New Delhi to avoid halting, rerouting, or limiting rivers that flow downstream.
Addressing United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s Arria Formula Meeting on 'Protecting Water in Armed Conflict', Usman Jadoon, Pakistan's deputy permanent representative to the UN, highlighted India’s bid to weaponise water. "We will never accept any such move," he said.
Arria Formula meetings are informal that enabling Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views on relevant subjects.
The meeting of the 15-member Council on ‘Protecting Water in Armed Conflict’ was convened by Slovenia, in cooperation with Algeria, Panama, Sierra Leone, and the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts.
Opening the debate, Slovenia’s State Secretary Melita Gabric emphasised the critical role that protecting water and related infrastructure during armed conflicts plays in safeguarding civilian lives, saying: “Protection of civilians and civilian objects under international humanitarian law is non-negotiable.”
The UNSC forum held the discussion on protecting water infrastructure in the wake of New Delhi’s threats of cutting Islamabad’s water flow. Following the deadly April attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir's (IIOJK) Pahalgam that India blames on Islamabad, New Delhi "put in abeyance" its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.
Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but the accord has not been revived despite the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreeing on a ceasefire earlier this month following the worst fighting between them in decades.
In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy pointed out that attacks against water resources, related infrastructure, and denial of access to these resources constitute a flagrant violation of established norms, and widely accepted principles, noting that the UNSC too has also reaffirmed these principles and strongly condemned the unlawful denial of such access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival.
“India’s decision to illegally and unilaterally suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), aiming to impede the flow of water guaranteed to Pakistan under the Treaty, is a grave violation of international law, including human rights law, the treaty law and customary international law,” Ambassador Jadoon said.
“Troubling pronouncements by Indian leadership to ‘starve the people of Pakistan’ depict a highly dangerous and perverse thinking,” he said.
“We strongly condemn India’s unlawful announcement to hold the Treaty in abeyance and call upon India to strictly abide by its legal obligations and refrain from stopping, diverting or restricting rivers that are a lifeline for 240 million people of Pakistan.”
He urged the UNSC must play a role by identifying situations where violations of international law, including the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) principles, could jeopardise peace and security or lead to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and act preventively.
In conclusion, Ambassador Jadoon backed the calls for full compliance with the IHL and international human rights laws, especially for the protection of water resources and related infrastructure.
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