Stopping Of Water By India To Be Considered An Act Of War: Senators

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -27th Sep,2016) : The Senators Tuesday said it would be considered an act of war if India stopped water flowing towards Pakistan by violating the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

Speaking in the Senate, they viewed that it was need of the hour to revisit relations with India, which was even sabotaging the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). A collective message from the parliament should go to India, they said.

Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani said the recent Indian statements about the Indus Water Treaty were a grave issue. The treaty was an important document and India could not revoke it unilaterally, he said.

Rabbani said the unilateral revocation of IWT would be a breach of the treaty and it would be rather an act of war. Pakistan should ponder over the presnece of India in the SAARC. There was no need to import Indian movies and a free trade policy with India, he added.

He said the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs would brief the Committee of the Whole on Thursday about the country's foreign policy. Leader of the Opposition Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan said the Indian step of abrogating IWT would be tantamount to imposing war on Pakistan.

He said after taking over as Indian premier, Narendra Modi was creating new issues and it would de-stabilize the whole region. Modi's hostile posture was detrimental not only to Pakistan but also to the whole region, he added.

Sherry Rehman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said India had adopted a policy of 'water terrorism' against Pakistan. The Indus Water Treaty was an international treaty and India could not revoke it unilaterally, she added.

She said treaties were always among state to state rather than regime to regime. The treaty could not be abrogated as it involved World Bank as an international guarantor, she said. She said it was also an issue of human rights and as per the international law, India could not build dams to stop water.

She suggested that the Foreign Office should keep an eye on the important issue. Azam Khan Swati of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said the recent Modi's threats would bring havoc to the region.

He said the government should expose Modi's real face to the world community.

He also appreciated the chairman for holding discussion on the issue in the House. The Senate Chairman said an in-camera session was being held on Thursday, where the Advisor on Foreign Affairs and the Defense Minister would brief the House on the issue.

He urged the Senators to ensure their presence in the session. The Chairman said the government should review SAARC and other agreements with India in the wake of such bashing statements. Mushahid Hussain Syed of the PML-Q said that Modi adopted an irresponsible attitude.

Terming India a rouge state, he said it would be a red line, if India stopped water. He said actually Modi represented RSS party rather than the BJP which was an anti-minorities party. "We have to revisit our relations with India in such circumstances," he added.

He said that the DG ISI should brief the House about the preparedness in case of Indian aggression. He thanked Allah Almighty that Pakistan was a nuclear power and India could not dare for any offensive owing to its nuclear weapons capability.

"Had India crossed the red line then we should revisit our policy," he said. Taj Haider of the PPP said India was violating international laws regarding the Indus Waters Treaty. SAARC, he said, had become a non-starter due to Indian stubbornness.

India could not revoke the Indus Water Treaty unilaterally, he added. Jamaat-i-Islami chief Siraj-ul-Haq said all agreements with India should be revisited. India was also constructing a dam on the Kabul River in collaboration with the Afghan government to barren Pakistan's lands, he added.

He said in past foreign policies were formulated under the US pressure which needed to be revisited. He said the country was also facing Indian cultural invasion. Muzaffar Hussain Shah of PML-F said no party could unilaterally annul the Indus Water Treaty.

Gen (R) Salahuddin Tirmizi of PML-N said India could neither fight war with Pakistan nor it could revoke the treaty unilaterally. He said India was trying to divert world attention from Kashmir by creating new issues. Sehar Kamran of the PPP said India wanted to pressurize Pakistan through coercive means.