Pakistan to raise IWT suspension in DGMO talks with India
text_fields
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Water Resources, Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, announced that the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will be a key agenda item in the upcoming Director General Military Operations (DGMO)-level talks with India, scheduled for Monday. The announcement comes in the wake of a 48-hour military escalation between the two nations, followed by a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Speaking to the media, Wattoo stated that Pakistan intends to raise the issue of the IWT suspension during the DGMO-level communication and confirmed that preparations have been made to formally serve a legal notice to India over its unilateral decision.
"Pakistan will address all issues, including the Indus Waters Treaty suspension with India, tomorrow during the communication. We are also ready to serve a formal legal notice to India over the Indus Waters Treaty as well," Wattoo said. He added that "constitutional and legal consultations in response to India’s recent announcement regarding the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty have been completed."
According to government sources, the formal legal notice will be delivered through diplomatic channels within the next few days. The communication will reportedly demand clear justifications from India regarding its unilateral suspension of the treaty.
India’s decision to suspend its IWT obligations followed the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. Citing the attack, India issued a notification to Pakistan explaining its rationale, pointing to significant changes in demographics, the urgency of clean energy development, and shifts in the foundational assumptions that underpinned the treaty when it was signed.
During a recent media briefing in New Delhi on Operation Sindoor—India’s May 7 military operation against terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir—Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri elaborated on India’s stance. “There have been fundamental changes in the circumstances in which the Indus Waters Treaty was concluded, and they called for a reassessment of the obligations under the treaty,” he stated.
Misri also revealed that India had maintained communication with Pakistan over the past two years, sending multiple notices requesting negotiations to discuss possible modifications to the treaty. He noted that India has respected the IWT for over six decades, including during periods of armed conflict initiated by Pakistan.
With IANS inputs
