Not concerned over India’s plan to stop flow of water: Pakistan
By migrator | Feb 22, 2019, 15:34 IST
NATIONAL | February 22, 2019:
Pakistan is not concerned over India's plan to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty, a top official said.
The response came hours after Union minister Nitin Gadkari said in New Delhi that India has decided to "stop" the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.
Talking to Dawn on Thursday, secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said: "We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT allows it to do so."
He said Pakistan did not see Gadkari's statement as worrisome in context with the IWT. "Actually India wants to construct Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin.
The reiteration to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighboring country.
India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. There were demands to stop the flow of India's share of Indus water to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack in 2016.
Under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960, the waters of the western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — was given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers — the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — to India.