Pakistan urges India to resume normal functioning of Indus Waters Treaty
Islamabad, Jun 30 (PTI): Pakistan on Monday urged India to resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty, which New Delhi has held in abeyance since May, saying the recent decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague showed that the agreement was still "valid and operational".
India has never recognised the proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration after Pakistan raised objections to certain design elements of the two projects under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty.
India on Friday strongly rejected the ruling, saying it has never recognised the so-called framework for dispute resolution with Pakistan.
India rejects this so-called "supplemental award", the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, referring to the ruling in the case related to Pakistan's objections to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects.
A day after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in "abeyance".
In a statement, Pakistan's Foreign Office on Monday said the supplemental award announced by the Court of Arbitration on June 27 "vindicates Pakistan's position that the Indus Waters Treaty remains valid and operational, and that India has no right to take a unilateral action about it.”
“We urge India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty, and fulfil its treaty obligations, wholly and faithfully,” it added.
Separately, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the court’s ruling confirmed that the IWT remained fully valid.
"Pakistan welcomes the Court of Arbitration’s Supplemental Award reaffirming its jurisdiction in the Kishenganga-Ratle case. The ruling confirms that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) remains fully valid. India cannot unilaterally hold it in ‘abeyance’. States are measured by their adherence to international agreements. The IWT must be upheld in both letter & spirit," he said in a post on X on Monday.
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Kasaragod: Government Medical College gets first MBBS student from Rajasthan
Kasaragod: The Government Medical College, which recently secured the National Medical Commission’s approval, admitted its first MBBS student on Monday, with Gurwinder Singh from Alwar in Rajasthan becoming the first of the 50 students in the inaugural batch of the College.
Singh received a warm welcome into the College with sweets by Principal-in-Charge Dr. KK Santosh Kumar and Medical Superintendent Dr Praveen. The admission procedure was formally completed with the recording of his attendance, reports On Manorama.
The College has seven seats reserved for candidates from the All-India rank list, and Singh qualified for a seat in the College under the All-India Medical Entrance quota.
Unlike the other government medical colleges in the state, where classes started this week after the admission of students during the first round of counseling, the Kasaragod Medical College had to wait for approval from the National Medical Commission. The College received the approval and began enrolling students after conclusion of counseling.
The classes will begin on September 30, after completion of Phase 2 of allotment. The first batch students are currently provided temporary hostel facilities at Cherkkala.
While the second student under the All-India rank list is expected to join the College today, the authorities have said they cannot guarantee how long the new students will remain, adding that some students may opt to move to other colleges if they are allotted seats there.
