Islamabad : Pakistan has welcomed the Permanent Court of Arbitration\u2019s (PCA) ruling concerning the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), calling the findings \u201cclear and authoritative pronouncements.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his weekly media briefing on Wednesday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the ruling reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s right to use all available diplomatic and legal avenues to protect its water rights. He also urged India to fulfil its obligations under the treaty in full.<\/p>\n
According to Andrabi, the unanimous decision represents an important reaffirmation of the significance of the Indus Waters Treaty as well as the role of international law in resolving disputes.<\/p>\n
He said the ruling further supported Pakistan\u2019s established position that disagreements concerning the Indus river system must be addressed through the mechanisms specifically provided under the treaty and in line with international law.<\/p>\n
The spokesperson noted that the proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration were themselves conducted under the dispute-settlement framework established by the Indus Waters Treaty.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndia\u2019s rejection of the award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration raises concerns that extend well beyond the present dispute. India cannot treat international law as a matter of convenience\u2014invoking it when useful and discarding it when inconvenient,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Andrabi maintained that India could not unilaterally disregard responsibilities arising from a legally binding international treaty or reject the mechanisms established within it for resolving differences.<\/p>\n
He warned that such an approach could undermine respect for international agreements, erode confidence in arbitration mechanisms and create a damaging precedent for the resolution of disputes globally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndia should, therefore, return to full compliance with the treaty, respect the institutional and dispute settlement mechanisms of the treaty, and engage Pakistan constructively within the framework that both countries solemnly accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further stated that the position recently conveyed by India\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs could neither revoke nor alter India\u2019s obligations under the Indus Waters Treaty, including its duty to implement the arbitration court\u2019s award.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan is committed to implementing it in earnest, in letter and in spirit, in accordance with the language and provisions of the treaty. We will continue to urge India to reciprocate with the same approach whereby the treaty is upheld in letter, in spirit, and in full legal and documented provisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
On developments concerning Afghanistan, the spokesperson welcomed the visit of China\u2019s Special Envoy for Afghanistan and appreciated Beijing\u2019s continued engagement with matters relating to the neighbouring country.<\/p>\n
Andrabi said Pakistan had consistently advocated meaningful and result-oriented dialogue on Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
He, however, stressed that genuine progress would depend on the interim Taliban authorities taking practical and verifiable steps against the TTP, BLA and other militant organisations accused of operating from Afghan soil and launching attacks against Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Responding to questions about the ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran and the status of the Islamabad MoU, Andrabi said Pakistan was closely watching developments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are closely monitoring the situation\u2026 International armed conflicts have their cycles, whereby a period of escalation is followed by relative calm, eventual cessation of hostilities, and an ultimate return to the negotiation table.<\/p>\n
This is the standard pattern of international armed conflicts. While we remain concerned and these escalations are certainly not desirable, we are not discouraged and we remain engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
He dismissed the suggestion that the latest escalation necessarily represented the failure of mediation initiatives, stressing that Pakistan remained seriously involved in efforts aimed at promoting peace.<\/p>\n
Andrabi recalled that following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s meeting with the Iranian president, the premier had characterised the Islamabad MoU as a possible framework for bringing the two sides back to negotiations.<\/p>\n
He said the process could also involve technical-level talks focused on reaching a lasting and sustainable resolution to the dispute.<\/p>\n
On the criminal proceedings against Kashmir leader Yasin Malik, Andrabi reiterated that Pakistan\u2019s position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remained unchanged.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan\u2019s position on Jammu and Kashmir is firmly anchored in UN Security Council resolutions, international law, and the wishes of the Kashmiri people\u2026We remain fully engaged with this issue at relevant international platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had met the UN secretary-general during their engagements in Bishkek. Jammu and Kashmir, he said, remained a major priority for Pakistan at the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the European Commission\u2019s latest bi-annual GSP Monitoring Report, Andrabi said Pakistan welcomed the report and valued the Commission\u2019s recognition of the country\u2019s continued compliance with the relevant international conventions.<\/p>\n
He nevertheless observed that the overall assessment contained in the report did not adequately reflect a balanced picture of Pakistan\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
Asked about Pakistan\u2019s counter-terrorism efforts, Andrabi said the country\u2019s strategy consisted of both internal and external dimensions.<\/p>\n
On the domestic side, he said Pakistani security forces were conducting extensive operations to counter militant threats.<\/p>\n
The external dimension, he explained, involved alleged support being provided by elements operating from Afghanistan, including the interim Taliban authorities, to militant groups involved in attacks inside Pakistan.<\/p>\n
He further alleged that extra-regional actors, particularly India, were also providing support and facilitation to such groups, claiming that Pakistan possessed concrete evidence to substantiate these allegations.<\/p>\n
Speaking about Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic engagements during the past week, Andrabi said Islamabad had pursued an active foreign-policy agenda through senior-level bilateral, regional and multilateral engagements aimed at advancing national interests and deepening ties with key partners.<\/p>\n
He specifically mentioned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s official visit to Kyrgyzstan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.<\/p>\n
During the trip, the prime minister made important interventions and held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, while Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also engaged with a number of foreign leaders.<\/p>\n
Andrabi announced that Pakistan had assumed the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and would host the next SCO Council of Heads of State summit in 2027.<\/p>\n
The spokesperson also discussed the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee created under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n
Held in Istanbul, the meeting saw the three countries reaffirm their shared commitment to peace, regional stability and de-escalation, including through restraint and the peaceful resolution of crises.<\/p>\n
He said the agreement also provides for the establishment of a Secretariat in Saudi Arabia under the leadership of a Secretary-General. Pakistan will nominate the first Secretary-General, who will hold the position for an initial three-year term.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s briefing marked Andrabi\u2019s final appearance as Foreign Office spokesperson before he takes up his new diplomatic role as Pakistan\u2019s Permanent Representative to Geneva.<\/p>\n
He formally handed over the spokesperson\u2019s responsibilities to Ambassador Sajjad Haider Khan, who will assume charge as the new Foreign Office spokesperson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad : Pakistan has welcomed the Permanent Court of Arbitration\u2019s (PCA) ruling concerning the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), calling the findings \u201cclear and authoritative pronouncements.\u201d During his weekly media briefing on Wednesday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the ruling reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s right to use all available diplomatic and legal avenues to protect its water …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[160,2294],"class_list":["post-8704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","tag-headline","tag-youdigital"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8706,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8704\/revisions\/8706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}