Pakistan violated spirit of IWT by inflicting three wars, thousands of terror attacks on India
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United Nations (PTI): India ripped through Pakistan's “disinformation” at the UN on the Indus Waters Treaty, asserting that Islamabad violated its spirit by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India that seek to hold hostage lives of civilians, religious harmony and economic prosperity.
“We are constrained to respond to the disinformation being carried out by the delegation of Pakistan with regard to the Indus Waters Treaty. India has always acted in a responsible manner as an upper riparian state,” India’s Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said on Friday.
Harish was addressing the UN Security Council Arria Formula meeting organised by the Permanent Mission of Slovenia on ‘Protecting Water in Armed Conflict – Protecting Civilian Lives.’
Harish highlighted four aspects to expose the “disinformation” by Pakistan, which spoke about India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.
In the wake of the horrific April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 civilians were killed, India had decided that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 would be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
Harish told the UN meeting that India had entered into the Indus Waters Treaty 65 years ago in good faith.
Noting that the Preamble of the Treaty describes that it was concluded ‘in a spirit of good will and friendship’, Harish said throughout these six and a half decades, “Pakistan has violated the spirit of the treaty by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India.”
The Indian envoy underlined that in the last four decades, more than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost in terror attacks, the most recent of which was the dastardly targeted terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam.
Even as India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity throughout this period, Harish said Pakistan’s “state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in India seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians, religious harmony and economic prosperity.”
Harish pointed out that India has formally asked Pakistan to discuss the modifications of the Treaty on several occasions in the past two years but Islamabad continues to reject these.
“Pakistan’s obstructionist approach continues to prevent the exercise of full utilisation of legitimate rights by India,” he said.
Further, Harish said that in the past 65 years, far-reaching fundamental changes have taken place not only in terms of escalating security concerns through cross-border terror attacks but also growing requirements for producing clean energy, climate change and demographic change.
“Technology for dam infrastructure has transformed to ensure the safety and efficiency of operations and water use. Some of the old dams are facing serious safety concerns,” he said adding that Pakistan has continued to “consistently block” any changes to this infrastructure, and any modifications of the provisions, which is permissible under the Treaty.
He noted that in 2012, terrorists even attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir.
“These cynical acts continue to endanger the safety of our projects and the lives of civilians.
“It is against this backdrop that India has finally announced that the treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan, which is a global epicentre of terror, credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism. It is clear that it is Pakistan which remains in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty.”
Earlier in the day, Harish delivered a strong response to Pakistan at a UNSC open debate on ‘Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’, calling out Pakistan’s “grossly hypocritical” behaviour and asserting that a nation that makes no distinction between terrorists and civilians has no credentials to speak about protecting civilians.
After Pakistan’s Ambassador at the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad raked the Kashmir issue and spoke about the recent conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries, Harish slammed Pakistan’s baseless allegations and said India experienced decades of Pakistani-sponsored terrorist attacks across its borders.
“This has ranged from the horrific 26/11 attack on the city of Mumbai to the barbaric mass murder of innocent tourists in Pahalgam in April 2025. The victims of Pakistani terrorism have been predominantly civilians since its objective has been to attack our prosperity, progress and morale. For such a nation to even participate in a discussion on the protection of civilians is an affront to the international community,” Harish said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives. India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ under which it carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions. The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
Harish told the UN Security Council that Pakistan has repeatedly used civilian cover to advance the cause of terrorism.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
