Foreign Office Wednesday said Pakistan will fight its case at an appropriate forum in light of its rights under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) if India proceeds with its plan to stop the country's waters.
Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal told during his weekly media briefing that the IWT between India and Pakistan was facilitated by World Bank.
"We are exercising all rights provided in the agreement. In case, India takes any steps that violate the Treaty, Pakistan will exercise all options available in the Treaty to counter Indian moves," he warned.
Modi last week threatened to stop Pakistan's water by diverting it to Haryana, adding that he has already started work on it. Quoting Modi's speech, he said "For 70 years, water that belonged to Haryana farmers and to us flowed to Pakistan... But this Modi will stop that water and bring it to your house. I have already started working on it. The water belongs to India and farmers of Haryana. That is why Modi is fighting this for you."
To a question, he said Pakistan will participate in quadrilateral peace process, involving China, Afghanistan and Russia, on the Afghan peace process to be held
on October 25, 2019 in Moscow.
He said Pakistan has been a part of all efforts and processes to discuss and facilitate peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan's role is particularly noteworthy in crystallizing international convergence for a peaceful solution in Afghanistan.
Pakistan had participated in the first round of four-party talks in Beijing July last, he said, adding that the next round is being held in Moscow at an opportune moment, as it would provide an important opportunity to review the currently stalled peace process.
He said Pakistani side will be represented by additional secretary, Afghanistan and West Asia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the meeting.
"Pakistan will continue its endeavors through wholehearted support as its part of shared responsibility, for making the international peace efforts successful in Afghanistan," the spokesperson added.
The Moscow meeting will be followed by another round of intra-Afghan dialogue in Beijing being hosted by China on Oct 28 and 29. A 25-member Afghan delegation led by the country's vice president will participate in the dialogue in which Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will also participate.
About Kartarpur Corridor, Dr Faisal said Pakistan and India are likely to sign agreement on Kartarpur Corridor today (Thursday).
"As of now, Pakistan and India would sign the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on Thursday (today). We are fully ready to functionalise the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on our side," he said, adding that details of the agreement will be shared with the media once signed.
He further said Sikh Yatris will be permitted to visit the Gurdawara Kartarpur Sahib from morning till evening, adding that specific details about the timings, etc, would be released after signing of the agreement.
"Currently, we are in the process of devising a mechanism to charge $20 per visitor per visit, as service charges," he added.
About the visit of the foreign diplomats given to the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday, he said that the diplomats based in Islamabad were given a visit to the LoC, especially to town of Jurra, which took the major brunt of Indian artillery and fire.
He said that diplomatic corps and the media witnessed that many shops have been completely burnt. The fire started at 10pm on Sunday, Oct 20 and continued till 4am of next day. Resultantly, more than 25 houses were destroyed and many others were damaged, he added.
He told that the diplomats and media personnel including the international media freely interacted with the residents of the area and also filmed the situation on the ground.
He said the Indian Charge d'affaires was also extended an invitation on 20th Oct and asked him to share details, including the longitude and latitude of the alleged locations or any other evidence regarding the Indian army chief's claims and also invited him to accompany other diplomats to visit the alleged 'launch pad' area.
"However, we did not receive any response from the Indian side so far. We wanted that the India should have visited the area pointed out by their army chief so that this tendency of allegations should be stopped," he added.
He further said the real issue is to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per the resolutions of the UNSC and the will of the Kashmiri people. "Until and unless this issue is resolved, peace and stability in South Asia will remain elusive," he added.
The spokesperson said Pakistan's position on Kashmir is very clear and unchanged. He said the resolution of this dispute lies in the aspirations of the Kashmiri people as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
Condemning Indian blatant human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir, he said the humanitarian nightmare in the held valley is worsening with continued military lockdown and complete communications blockade.
FO spokesperson said eight million people in occupied Kashmir remain cut off from the rest of the world. He said that these inhumane and unilateral actions by India are continuing in spite of international condemnation.
To a question about Malaysian President Mahathir Mohamed's stance on Kashmir dispute, the spokesperson said Pakistan is proud of its Malaysian brothers and sisters.
Responding another query, he reiterated Pakistan's stance saying that affairs of Hong Kong is an internal matter of China. He said Pakistan is committed to One China policy.
He said Pakistan believes the measures taken by China and Hong Kong are aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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