Pakistan on Thursday acknowledged that India was regularly sharing updates about the floodwater flow under the Indus Waters Treaty between the two nations. Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked at the weekly briefing about options for Pakistan if India refused to accept the Court of Arbitration and its verdict on the Kishanganga and Ratle reservoirs issue.
She responded by saying that the Indus Waters Treaty was a gold standard of bilateral treaties on water and served both Pakistan and India well. India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the World Bank being a signatory of the pact. The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding the use of waters of a number of rivers.
In 2015, Pakistan requested the appointment of a neutral expert to examine its technical objections to India’s Kishenganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs). In 2016, Pakistan unilaterally retracted this request and proposed that a Court of Arbitration adjudicate its objections.
“Pakistan is fully committed to its full implementation. And, we hope that India will also remain committed to the Treaty,” she said. India last month said it cannot be compelled to participate in "illegal" proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects in Kashmir after the Hague-based tribunal ruled that it has the "competence" to consider the dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad on the matter.
India has been maintaining that it will not join the Pakistan-initiated proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration as the dispute is being already examined by a neutral expert under the framework of the Indus Waters Treaty.
"India cannot be compelled to recognise or participate in illegal and parallel proceedings not envisaged by the treaty," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi.
FO Spokesperson Baloch also said that following the recent extraordinary rainfalls in India and increased water flows into Pakistan, especially in the Sutlej River, “India has been sharing regular updates and reports on water discharge towards Pakistan, since the 9th of July as expected under the Indus Waters Treaty.”
To a question, she said Pakistan was following the developments pertaining to the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to France but refused to comment on possible defence deals between the two nations.
When asked about the Pakistan cricket team going to India, she said that the Prime Minister has established a committee to discuss the circumstances of the participation of the Pakistani cricket team in the World Cup. “The committee will deliberate this question and once we have an outcome we will make an announcement,” she said.
