ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says it is keeping all options open in response to the recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the Indus Waters Treaty, despite New Delhi’s outright rejection of the decision. New Delhi had previously suspended the treaty unilaterally, but Pakistan maintains that India’s refusal to accept the court’s award does not diminish its legal obligations under the treaty or exempt it from implementing the ruling.
“We retain all options. All diplomatic and non-diplomatic options remain on the table. The dispute-resolution mechanism under the Indus Waters Treaty was followed in the proceedings leading up to the Permanent Court of Arbitration. India is a signatory to this Treaty. As such, its participation was necessarily part of the entire process, conducted under the Treaty’s dispute-resolution mechanism. Therefore, India cannot absolve itself of its responsibilities with respect to the decision given by a court established as per Treaty provisions,” said Tahir Andrabi, the outgoing Spokesperson at the Foreign Office, during the weekly media briefing.
Pakistan sees the decision as ‘important’, which is under the dispute settlement mechanism of the Treaty. “As such, the Court has followed what is provided in the Treaty. So, the question of India accepting or not accepting does not arise. India cannot abuse the decisions of the Court, Pakistan will take all possible measures to ensure that the decision of the Court is implemented fully,” he added.
Commenting on the IWT, he pointed out that the Award is self-explanatory and the defiance of such a law is sort of abuse and contempt of international law and can be categorised as such. “If there is a provision for an indictment on account of abusing court order of international Permanent Court of Arbitration, certainly, there is a strong case to indict India in this regard.”
Andrabi said: “India’s rejection of the award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration raises concerns that extend well beyond the present dispute. New Delhi cannot treat international law as a matter of convenience, invoking it when useful and discarding it when inconvenient. Nor can it disregard binding treaty obligations and the legal processes to which it freely subscribed, simply because their outcomes are not to its liking. Such an approach by India undermines the sanctity of treaties, erodes confidence in established international dispute settlement mechanisms and creates adverse precedents for other regions where shared resources are governed through agreed legal frameworks.”
Explaining that in a region as sensitive as South Asia, unilateralism in the management of transboundary water is particularly concerning and inimical to sustainable peace and stability. “India 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,” he said.
On the other hand, Pakistan remains “confident” and “hopeful” despite the recent escalation in strikes by Iran and the United States against each other, as the war in the Middle East continues into its seventh month with non-stop harsh rhetoric from both parties.
“Whilst we remain concerned, and obviously these escalations are not desirable, however, we are not discouraged, and we remain engaged. This escalation should not be termed as a failure of the mediatory process. During periods of escalation, parties to the conflict usually issue statements which seem hard and strong. This is not entirely unexpected. We remain confident. We remain hopeful that whenever the parties return to, or feel that there is a rationality for dialogue prevailing, then the Islamabad MoU provides a framework for such discussions,” said the FO spokesperson.
Pointing out that there was no question of the peace process being alive or dead or half-dead, and when the parties agree to resume dialogue, this template of peace, or any similar framework copying this template, will be adopted with Pakistan remaining positive that the parties will eventually return to the dialogue table. For the time being, he added, Pakistan is closely monitoring the situation while admitting that there have been armed attacks, and counterattacks and retaliation from both sides.
“As I have said before, international armed conflicts have their cycles, whereby a period of escalation is followed by relative calm, cessation of hostilities, and eventual return to the negotiating tables. This is the pattern of international armed conflicts. Our efforts will continue. We hope that when the logic of escalation will exhaust—and it should eventually exhaust—the parties would return to the negotiating table,” he said.
The spokesperson brushed aside importance being given to a speech by the Afghan ambassador at the National Defence University this week, as nothing unusual. “Envoys visit academic institutions. This is not unusual. Such interaction is no yardstick for measuring bilateral relations between the two sides. As such, we should not read too much into this interaction. This was just in an academic context,” he clarified.
Also, Pakistan does not believe that the European Commission report is a balanced one. To a query on the European Commission’s publication of its biannual GSP monitoring report for 2023-2025, the spokesperson said that this assessment is the final monitoring report under the current GSP Plus framework on Pakistan’s compliance with 27 international conventions.
“We appreciate the report and the commission’s recognition of Pakistan’s continued compliance under these 27 international conventions. Nevertheless, we believe that the report’s overall narrative does not present a sufficiently balanced picture of Pakistan’s performance. GSP Plus remains central to Pakistan’s economic relationship with the European Union, and we will remain constructively engaged with the EU and remain committed to the effective implementation.”
To a query as to who Pakistan would nominate as the first secretary general of Makkah Defence Alliance, the spokesperson said no decision had been taken so far. “We will inform you in due course. You see, if you look at the seriousness with which the three sides are approaching this agreement – we signed it, and then we held the first meeting of this committee, within few weeks. Obviously, there is a considerable sense of priority for all the partner countries. I am sure the decision will be taken in due course, and an individual befitting this important responsibility will be selected by Pakistan.”
Elaborating further on the agreement, he said that it’s essentially a framework for defence, serving the interests of the three countries, but also serves the interests of the region and beyond, since the agreement is tailored towards maintaining and improving the prospects for peace, prosperity, regional stability and basically ending the prospects of war in the region. “We will continue to follow our obligations and responsibilities with respect to the agreement in this spirit. The agreement is in our interest, and in the collective interest of the region and beyond,” he added.
On Pakistan’s policy as the US called for all trade with Iran to be ceased, the spokesperson said, “On the announcement of the US measures the sanctions that mentioned: we have taken note of these latest economic measures, some announced during the course of this week and earlier this week. We believe that the prevailing situation calls for restrained dialogue and sustained diplomatic engagement. We will continue to urge all sides to make progress in that direction. And, as regards the potential impact of these US measures on Pakistan-Iran trade, the matter is being carefully evaluated and monitored in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce.”
Andrabi added progress in Pakistan-Afghan relations hinges on actions and assurances to be given by the Taliban regime in Kabul.
