KARACHI: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called on India to immediately restore the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in accordance with international obligations on the occasion of World Water Day.
World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on 22 March that highlights the importance of fresh water and is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
India announced in April last year that it was holding the IWT, which provides water for 80 percent Pakistani farms, “in abeyance” after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 26 tourists. New Delhi blamed the assault on Pakistan, Islamabad denied it.
In his message, President Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s condemnation of India’s unilateral suspension of the IWT and said this deliberate “weaponization of shared water resources” was a matter of deep concern for Islamabad.
“India’s decision to place the Treaty in abeyance, disrupt hydrological data-sharing and impede agreed mechanisms undermines both the letter and spirit of a long-standing international agreement that has governed equitable sharing of the Indus river system for over six decades,” he said.
