PESHAWAR
\nPolitical and diplomatic experts on Sunday strongly condemned the Indian government\u2019s rejection of the International Court of Arbitration\u2019s ruling on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), terming it a serious violation of international law and justice.
\nFormer ambassador Manzoorul Haq, while criticizing the statement issued by the Indian government spokesperson rejecting the international court\u2019s authority, said it reflected the fascist Modi government\u2019s disregard for international legal institutions.
\nHe said that the International Court of Arbitration, based in The Hague, issued a historic rulings about IWT that are binding on member states.
\nTalking to APP, he said India had already acted against UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir and was now ignoring the historic ruling of the International Court of Arbitration regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, exposing New Delhi\u2019s disregard for international organizations and commitment.
\nAmbassador Manzoor was referring to the recent statement by the spokesperson for India\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs, who claimed that India had never recognized the \u201cso-called court.\u201d
\nThe remarks came after the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, upheld its award issued last year in favour of upholding Indus Waters Treaty.
\nThe court clarified that India could not unilaterally suspend the treaty and that the agreement remained intact.
\nCondemning the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson\u2019s comments, Manzoor said India had neither accepted the establishment of the arbitration court nor recognized its rulings and awards, which undermined international commitments, rule of law and the World Bank\u2019s guarantee of the treaty.
\nHe said India\u2019s repeated violations of the IWT threatened the sanctity of international treaties and inter-state relations, adding that the RSS backed Modi government should be held accountable for his illegal actions.
\nAccording to him, India\u2019s decision to hold the treaty in abeyance would jeopardize peace in the subcontinent. He warned that any conflict between two nuclear powers over water resources could have dangerous consequences far beyond the region.
\nThe Indus Waters Treaty, mediated by the World Bank in 1960, divides control of the Indus basin rivers between Pakistan and India.
\nManzoor accused India of illegally placing the treaty in abeyance and warned that unilateral actions regarding transboundary waters could escalate tensions and threaten regional peace and stability.
\nUnder the treaty, Pakistan has rights over the western rivers namely Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab for irrigation, drinking water, and non-consumptive uses such as hydropower generation, while India controls the eastern rivers Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.
\nHe further said hat India had committed material breaches of the treaty, citing abrupt decrease in the flow of the Chenab River from April 30 to May 21 and from December 7 to December 15 last year.
\n\u201cThese reduction in water flows are of extreme concern for Pakistan as they pointed to unilateral release of water by India into the River Chenab without prior notification or information-sharing, as required under the treaty,\u201d he said.
\nHe added that such actions occured at a critical stage of Pakistan\u2019s agricultural cycle and directly threatened livelihoods, food security, and the economy.
\nAmbassador Manzoor, who also served in Saudi Arabia and Egypt as top diplomat of Pakistan, said India\u2019s recent actions demonstrated the weaponization of water, an issue Pakistan had repeatedly raised before the international community.
\nHe said Pakistan\u2019s Indus Water Commissioner had written to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification on the matter of reducing of Chanab water under the provisions of the treaty.
\nPakistan, he said, expected India to respond to the concerns raised by Pakistan\u2019s Indus Water Commissioner in clear term, asking New Delhi for refrain from unilateral manipulation of river flows, and fulfill its obligations under the treaty in both letter and spirit.
\nProf Dr. AH Hilali, former chairman of the Political Science Department at the University of Peshawar, said India could not unilaterally place the treaty in abeyance and had lost legal grounds following the ruling of the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
\nHe accused India of attempting to undermine the treaty by constructing projects such as the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects illegally, calling the move a dangerous precedent.
\nHe said India had weakened the treaty\u2019s dispute resolution mechanism by refusing to participate in the Court of Arbitration and neutral expert proceedings.
\nHe said that India was deliberately attempting to sabotage the arbitration process under the treaty and exposing millions of people in Pakistan to hunger and deprivation.
\nPakistan and India have long disputed hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus river system, with Pakistan maintaining that Indian hydropower projects could reduce water flows and adversely affect agriculture in Pakistan.
\nIn August last year, the Court of Arbitration ruled that India must \u201clet flow\u201d the waters of the western rivers for Pakistan\u2019s unrestricted use.
\nHe reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty was a binding legal instrument that had contributed significantly to peace and stability in South Asia and could not be withdrawn unilaterally.
\nHe warned that restricting water supplies would expose millions of people in Pakistan to hunger and starvation.
\nThe experts said violations of the IWT threatened not only the sanctity of international treaties but also regional peace, security, good neighborly relations, and established norms governing relations between states.
\nThey expressed hope that the international community and the World Bank as well as International community would intervene to compel India to reverse its unilateral decisions and ensure the unrestricted flow of water in the western rivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR Political and diplomatic experts on Sunday strongly condemned the Indian government\u2019s rejection of the International Court of Arbitration\u2019s ruling on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), terming it a serious violation of international law and justice. Former ambassador Manzoorul Haq, while criticizing the statement issued by the Indian government spokesperson rejecting the international court\u2019s authority, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-547050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-peshawar"],"yoast_head":"\n