At UNSC, Pakistan warns against India’s ‘malevolent designs’ to halt water flow

UNITED NATIONS: A senior Pakistani diplomat has denounced India’s “malevolent designs” to impede the flow of water guaranteed to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty and called on New Delhi to refrain from stopping, diverting or restricting rivers going downstream.

“We will never accept any such moves,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan, told a United Nations Security Council meeting held under the format named after a former Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN, Diego Arriva, while highlighting India’s attempt to weaponize water.

Arria Formula meetings are informal that enable Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views on relevant subjects.

Friday’s meeting of the 15-member Council on ‘Protecting Water in Armed Conflict’ was convened by Slovenia, in cooperation with Algeria, Panama, Sierra Leone, and the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts.

Opening the debate, Slovenia’s State Secretary Melita Gabric emphasized the critical role that protecting water and related infrastructure during armed conflicts plays in safeguarding civilian lives, saying, “protection of civilians and civilian objects under international humanitarian law is non-negotiable.”

In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy pointed out that attacks against water resources, related infrastructure, and denial of access to these resources constitute a flagrant violation of established norms, and widely accepted principles, noting that the UNSC too has also reaffirmed these principles and strongly condemned the unlawful denial of such access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival.

“India’s decision to illegally and unilaterally suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), aiming to impede the flow of water guaranteed to Pakistan under the Treaty, is a grave violation of international law, including human rights law, the treaty law and customary international law,” Ambassador Jadoon said.

“Troubling pronouncements by Indian leadership to ‘starve the people of Pakistan’ depict a highly dangerous and perverse thinking,” he said.

“We strongly condemn India’s unlawful announcement to hold the Treaty in abeyance and call upon India to strictly abide by its legal obligations and refrain from stopping, diverting or restricting rivers that are a lifeline for 240 million people of Pakistan.”

In conclusion, Ambassador Jadoon backed the calls for full compliance with the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and international human right laws, especially for protection of water resources and related infrastructure.