India Making IWT ‘Dysfunctional’: Pak

Islamabad—Pakistan on Thursday accused India of making the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) “dysfunctional” and said it has taken up the matter with the World Bank.

The IWT was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory.

The World Bank’s role in relation to “differences” and “disputes” is limited to the designation of people to fulfill certain roles when requested by either or both of the parties.

“Indus Waters Treaty has been made dysfunctional by India. Its dispute resolution mechanism is currently not working, which includes the contentious Kishanganga and Ratle power projects,” Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said while addressing the weekly press briefing here.

Faisal said Pakistan on its part was taking up this issue with the World Bank.

Pakistan has consistently maintained that “a result oriented and meaningful dialogue, which is uninterrupted and uninterruptable, is the only viable solution to the problems facing Pakistan and India,” he said.

He also said that Pakistan and India were working on proposals to activate the Judicial Committee and the exchange of doctors between both sides.

Responding to Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks that Indian security forces can cross over the Line of Control, if needed, to protect country’s territorial integrity, Faisal said “such irresponsible belligerent statements reflect the jingoistic mindset prevailing in India which can further exacerbate the already vitiated environment.”

He said Pakistan refrains from such aggressive statements but “our armed forces are fully capable of giving a befitting response in case of any misadventure.”

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