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| April 23, 2002 | Tuesday | Safar 9, 1423 |
Pakistan sees no threat to Indus Water Treaty
ISLAMABAD, April 22: Pakistan has expressed satisfaction over the implementation of the Indus Basin Water Treaty during its about 40-year existence, and hoped that whatever issues of concern that might be there would be resolved when the commissioners of India and Pakistan meet some time soon.
Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan, at his weekly news briefing here on Monday, referring to a press report, said its headline tended to make it “sensational” but as a matter of fact the treaty had effectively and satisfactorily dealt with issues and problems that arose during the last 40 years. Similarly, he hoped, the commissioners’ meeting would be able to deal with what Pakistan had heard about what India might be contemplating regarding river Chenab.
The spokesman said because of the prevailing situation (arising out of massing of troops of both sides on the border) the Indus commissioners had not been able to meet as regularly as before, however, Islamabad is said to have requested New Delhi for an early meeting since it has been due for some time.
Khan sought to allay fears about any possibility of the treaty being “scrapped”, and said the treaty, which was assisted by the World Bank in its formulation, contained a specific provision which stipulated resolving all points of discord by commissioners and, in the event of their failure, at diplomatic levels between the two governments and ultimately by a tribunal if these steps failed.
In reply to a question, he said he did not expect that the commissioners meeting would be delayed so much that the disputed issue would become irretrievable, and reaffirmed that the two sides, as in the past, would meet soon and hopefully help resolving any issues, questions or doubts. He ruled out that the treaty was in danger of being annulled or scrapped as, since its inception, it had been very useful in sorting out the Indus water issues between the two countries.
NO MEETING: Responding to another question, the spokesman said he believed that there was no specific proposal for a possible meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Srinagar at an initiative of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) during a recent meeting of four lawyers from Indian-held Kashmir who had called on the president during their visit to Pakistan.
However, the spokesman recalled that as was well-known Pakistan’s position had been that it was ready to resume dialogue with the Indian leadership “at any time, any place and at any level”, and suggested that the position remained unchanged.
INDO-US DEAL: Replying to a question about the reported Indian deal with t