Pakistan ‘expects’ India to resume Indus Water Treaty after war threats

Within days after nuclear sabre rattling against India by Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir and the recent war threat by former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Pakistan has stated that it was hopeful that India would resume normal functioning of the currently suspended Indus Water Treaty.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry in a release on Monday (August 11) claimed that the Court of Arbitration on the issues of General Interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) had declared on August 8, “India shall ‘let flow’ the waters of the Western Rivers for Pakistan's unrestricted use.”

‘Hopeful that India would comply’

It further stated that Pakistan was committed to full implementation, adding that it expects India to abide by the Court of Arbitration’s verdict on the issue.

“Pakistan remains committed to full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty. It also expects India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Treaty, and faithfully implement the Award announced by the Court of Arbitration,” stated the release.

“In a significant finding, the Court has declared that India shall "let flow" the waters of the Western Rivers for Pakistan's unrestricted use. In that connection, the specified exceptions for generation of hydro-electric plants must conform strictly to the requirements laid down in the Treaty, rather than to what India might consider an "ideal" or "best practices' approach, it added.

Also Read: After Asim Munir, Bilawal Bhutto threatens India with 'war' over Indus Waters Treaty

India never recognised the proceedings

However, India has never recognised the proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration after Pakistan objected to certain design elements of two projects under the previous Indus Water Treaty.

“Today, the illegal Court of Arbitration, purportedly constituted under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, albeit in brazen violation of it, has issued what it characterizes as a "supplemental award” on its competence concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated in a release on June 27.

“India has never recognised the existence in law of this so-called Court of Arbitration, and India’s position has all along been that the constitution of this so-called arbitral body is in itself a serious breach of the Indus Waters Treaty and consequently any proceedings before this forum and any award or decision taken by it are also for that reason illegal and per se void,” it added.

Also Read: Pakistan army chief Asim Munir threatens to target RIL's Jamnagar refinery

Pakistan’s war threat

Earlier, Bhutto threatened to escalate the conflict if India modified the Indus Waters Treaty. Speaking in Sindh, Bhutto characterised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed hydro projects as attacks on Pakistani civilisation and called for national unity against New Delhi’s alleged plot to strangle Pakistan's water lifeline.

Bhutto declared that continued Indian actions would force Pakistan to consider all options, including war, to reclaim the six rivers. He claimed Modi's water project announcement was retaliation for India's military setback in May, describing it as "water aggression."

His statements followed Munir's nuclear warning that Pakistan would "take half the world down" if facing an existential threat. The army chief threatened missile strikes against Indian dams, claiming the Indus Water Treaty's suspension could starve 250 million people, emphasising that the river isn't India's exclusive property.