Will Pakistan Address IWT Suspension in Talks with India?

Islamabad, May 11 (NationPress) The Federal Minister for Water Resources of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, has announced that discussions regarding the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will be included in the agenda for the upcoming talks with India, set for Monday.

Following 48 hours of military tension between Pakistan and India, which was mediated by a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States, the DGMOs (Director General Military Operations) from both nations will engage in their first discussions on Monday.

Wattoo informed reporters that Pakistan intends to raise the issue of the IWT suspension during the DGMO-level discussions, which had been stalled recently. He mentioned that a formal legal notice would also be issued to India.

"We will address all pertinent issues, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, in our communication tomorrow. We are also prepared to serve a formal legal notice to India concerning the IWT," he stated.

He added, "We have concluded constitutional and legal consultations in response to India's recent announcement about the IWT suspension."

Sources have confirmed that Pakistan will dispatch a legal notice to India regarding the IWT through diplomatic channels in the coming days.

"The official communication will demand substantive justifications from India for its unilateral suspension of the treaty," the sources revealed.

India suspended the IWT following the tragic Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 innocent civilians.

India has issued a notification to its Pakistani counterpart outlining the reasons for suspending the IWT, citing significantly altered population demographics, the urgent need to accelerate clean energy development, and changes in the assumptions regarding water sharing under the IWT as fundamental factors leading to this decision.

Moreover, during a recent media briefing in New Delhi concerning Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated, "There have been fundamental changes in the circumstances surrounding the Indus Waters Treaty, necessitating a reassessment of its obligations."

"For over the past year-and-a-half to two years, India has been in communication with the government of Pakistan, sending multiple notices requesting negotiations to discuss modifications to this treaty. For more than six decades, India has honored the treaty, even amidst multiple conflicts initiated by Pakistan," he added.