The committees were briefed on the agenda Indian threat on the Indus Waters Treaty and to chart out a course of action for Pakistan. The meeting was co-chaired by Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari and Muhammad Arshad Khan Leghari, members of the parliament and the chairmen of the two committees.
Briefing the committees, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said all options were available with Pakistan in case India violated the IWT.
“We will not let India violate the treaty,” Chaudhry said, adding that Pakistan had already engaged the World Bank to look into the issue as guarantor.
“We have already requested the World Bank to appoint chairman of the arbitration court,” he said.
The secretary said Islamabad would defend its right at any cost. New Delhi, he alleged, was using delaying tactics while “we want to resolve the issue at the earliest”.
Pakistan has serious reservations over an Indian move to construct 45 to 60 dams on the western rivers, he said.
Water and Power Secretary Younus Dagha said Pakistan was challenging the construction of Kishanganga and Ratle projects in the court of international arbitration. He, however, said India had not as yet started work on Ratle project.
Former foreign minister and Tehrik-i-Insaf leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the water dispute with India had reached such alarming proportions that it could even dwarf the Kashmir issue. He suggested the government to evolve a clear roadmap, assuring his party’s support on the issue.
Sourced from agencies, Featured image courtesy: energyinfrapost.com
