Kochi: India has condemned Pakistan for raising irrelevant topics of Indus water issue before the first UN conference on glaciers in Tajikistan’s Dushanbe.
Addressing the plenary session of the first conference on Friday, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said Pakistan is misusing the forum to bring in unwarranted references which do not fall under the purview of the forum.
Singh said Pakistan should stop blaming India for the breach of the Indus Waters Treaty, as the unrelenting cross-border terrorism from its soil is interfering with the treaty.
Stating that Pakistan itself was violating the treaty through terrorism, Singh said it is an undeniable fact that there have been fundamental changes in circumstances since the Indus Waters Treaty was signed.
These changes include technological advancements, demographic changes, climate change and the ongoing threat of cross-border terrorism, he said.
The Minister said that the treaty’s preamble states it was concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship, and that honouring the treaty in good faith is essential.
Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said that his country would not allow India to cross the red line by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and endangering millions of lives for narrow political gains.
India announced the suspension of the treaty as part of several punitive measures against Pakistan after the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir killing 26 people.
The three-day UN conference on glaciers aims to highlight the important role of glaciers in maintaining global ecological balance and addressing water-related challenges.
The conference is being attended by over 2,500 delegates from 80 UN member states and 70 international organisations.
Photo: X
