——– Dar says Pakistan to safeguard its due share of water
——– Adds Pakistan will stand its ground and fight tooth and nail in this war
——– Asif warns of decisive response to any Indian aggression
——– Claims military briefed the govt on the possibility of an Indian attack
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has emphasized that Pakistan will take all appropriate steps to safeguard its due share of water, guaranteed by the Indus Waters Treaty.
He chaired a high-level meeting in Islamabad on Monday regarding the Indus Waters Treaty in the light of India’s move to hold the Treaty in abeyance.
Ishaq Dar underscored that India’s unilateral and illegal move to hold the Treaty in abeyance contra-vened the established norms of inter-state relations, international law, and the Treaty’s own provi-sions.
He stressed that the Treaty is critical to regional stability and its sanctity must be preserved.
Noting that the waters of the Indus River System remain a lifeline for Pakistan’s 240 million people, he deplored the Indian attempts to weaponize water.
The Deputy Prime Minister reiterated that Pakistan will continue to advocate for the full implementa-tion of the Indus Waters Treaty to ensure protection of its water rights and the well-being of its peo-ple. The meeting was attended by the Ministers for Law and Justice and Water Resources, Attorney Gen-eral, senior officials and technical experts. Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday clarified that his earlier remarks, suggesting an “imminent Indian military incursion” following last week’s deadly attack on tourists in Indian-occupied Kashmir, were misinterpreted.
Speaking to media earlier in the day at his office in Islamabad, Asif said: “We have reinforced our forc-es because it is something which is imminent now. So, in that situation, some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken.”
He explained that, with India’s rhetoric ramping up, the Pakistani military had briefed the government on the possibility of an Indian attack, though he did not elaborate on specific intelligence or assess-ments leading to this view.
Asif stressed that Pakistan remained on high alert but would only consider using its nuclear arsenal if there were a “direct threat to our existence.”
In a separate interview on a private news channel, he said: “We should be mentally prepared there is a war looming on the horizon. The possibility is there, a very vivid possibility that we can have war in the next day or two or three or four.”
However, questioned later about his remarks during another interview on a different news channel, Asif said his comments had been misinterpreted. “I think it has been misinterpreted on some other channel. I have already talked to them and I have not said anything like this,” he clarified. “They (the channel) asked me what are the chances of war, so I said that the next two to three days were cru-cial.”
He explained that his statement should not be taken as a categorical prediction of war beginning with-in days but rather a reflection that “the upcoming days would be crucial.” He added that channel in question was in the process of making the necessary corrections.
While reaffirming that “danger is looming,” Asif maintained he had not suggested that conflict was in-evitable. He further noted that other countries in the region were actively working to de-escalate ten-sions and avert any contentious developments.
“Pakistan is 100 per cent ready to face any combat situation if the country’s sovereignty is threatened or war imposed on it,” he said. Reiterating his earlier point, Asif concluded that while the possibility of conflict in the coming days existed, efforts were underway to prevent such an outcome.
