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Islamabad,: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Tuesday that the 240 million people of Pakistan had an \u201cinalienable right\u201d to water from the Indus River System.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, the minister expressed these views at a seminar held in Islamabad to highlight the legal and constitutional framework of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a water-sharing agreement that remains a contentious issue between India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we say that Indus is our lifeline and our people, the 240m people of Pakistan, have an inalienable right to the water of Indus, we mean it, from the core of our heart,\u201d he said, highlighting the significance of Indus for the country.<\/p>\n
Tarar began his speech by describing the IWT as \u201can instrument of peace and regional stability\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we are not merely discussing the treaty. We are discussing the lifeline of nearly 240 million people of Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cWhen we identify ourselves as Pakistanis, we ask a question as to who we are. And if you go back into history, the Indus water [sic] civilisation defines us as a people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever I go abroad, I always tell my counterparts that we are the people of the Indus Valley civilisation. Our identification is that we are people based on the banks and tributaries of the mighty Indus River.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister said water was life, and the \u201cIndus has given life to Pakistan\u201d.<\/p>\n
For Pakistan, he went on to say, water was simply not a resource but a matter of life itself.<\/p>\n
Tarar said the Indus River system had nurtured one of the world\u2019s oldest civilisations for thousands of years. \u201cFrom the towering peaks of Gilgit-Baltistan to the fertile plains of Punjab and Sindh, these waters have connected our people across geography and history.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the story of Pakistan was, in many ways, the story of the Indus. It was for this reason that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 occupied such a \u201cunique place in international relations\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
He recalled that the treaty was signed under the auspices of the World Bank and had endured wars, political upheavals and prolonged periods of tension.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts resilience, for more than six decades, demonstrates an enduring truth that cooperation, dialogue and adherence to international commitments remain the only sustainable path to peace,\u201d Tarar said.<\/p>\n
The minister said the IWT stood as a \u201cremarkable example\u201d of the rule-based international order. \u201cIt embodies the principle of good faith \u2014 pacta sunt servanda \u2014 the sanctity of agreements and peaceful dispute resolutions. These are not merely legal concepts, but foundations upon which trust is built.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, turning his attention to tensions between India and Pakistan over the IWT, he asserted that Pakistan\u2019s civilian and military leadership had made it clear that the people of Pakistan had a right to the water of the Indus and the treaty could not be amended, revoked, suspended or held in abeyance unilaterally.<\/p>\n
Tarar\u2019s assertion came a little more than a year after India announced that it was placing its IWT obligations in abeyance. The announcement followed an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir\u2019s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists \u2014 an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad without evidence. For its part, Pakistan strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral investigation.<\/p>\n
In contestation of the Indian move, Tarar pointed out that the treaty came into being after mutual consensus between Pakistan and India and could only be amended or revised with the mutual consensus of the two sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndia\u2019s failed attempt at unilaterally holding this treaty in abeyance has led to international embarrassment for India at various forums, including legal forums,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Moreover, he contended that the \u201cmoral, social and legal foundations\u201d of any one-sided attempt to hold the IWT in abeyance. \u201cAnd any structure which has weak foundations will fall flat on its face,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n
The minister stressed the need to protect the IWT, especially at a time when climate change was accelerating, glaciers were melting at an unprecedented rate and water scarcity was becoming the defining challenge of the present times.<\/p>\n
Tarar said South Asia was home to nearly a quarter of humanity, adding that \u201cour collective future depends upon transforming water from a source of contention into a catalyst for cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory teaches us that rivers do not divide civilisations; they connect them. Rivers transcend borders, politics and generations. They remind us that nature recognises no boundaries, and that humanity\u2019s shared challenges demand shared solutions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Any attempt to block or stop water, he said, would always fail because water would always find a way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weaponisation of water or attempts to unilaterally alter established arrangements undermine not only regional peace and stability but also the broader framework of international law. International agreements, as I said, cannot be suspended or disregarded at convenience.<\/p>\n
\u201cRespect for treaties is indispensable for maintaining confidence among nations and preserving the global order,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n
He said Pakistan had consistently demonstrated its commitment to peaceful engagement and constructive dialogue and the faithful implementation of the treaty. But, he warned, if an attempt was made to stop the water of Pakistan, the country\u2019s leadership stood resolved to respond effectively to restore the water for the people of Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Concluding his address, he said: \u201cLet us reaffirm today that we will, by all means, not only protect the sanctity of this treaty, but we will do all that we can to protect the inalienable right of the 240m people of Pakistan to the water of the Indus River.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe waters of the Indus have flowed for millennia. They have witnessed transformations. Yet, they continue to sustain life with unwavering generosity. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that these waters remain a symbol of peace and shared prosperity for generations to come. [\u2026] We collectively resolve today that we will do all that we can at all international forums, legally and otherwise, to ensure that the right to water of the Pakistani people is not only protected, but the world gets to see the illegal attempts being made by India to alter or change this treaty, which it cannot do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pakistan, he said, stood firm in its determination to protect the lives and livelihoods of its people, which are linked to the Indus River.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad,: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Tuesday that the 240 million people of Pakistan had an \u201cinalienable right\u201d to water from the Indus River System. According to Kashmir Media Service, the minister expressed these views at a seminar held in Islamabad to highlight the legal and constitutional framework of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":204139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t