India to suspend Indus Water Commission talks with Pakistan

Amidst the heightened tension between Pakistan and India over the recent Uri attack, Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said that India has provided proofs of cross border origins of attack.

India granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996 but the neighbouring country has so far not reciprocated.

India chose to review the treaty following the terror attack on an Indian Army camp at Uri that killed 18 soldiers.

In the wake of Uri attack where 18 soldiers were killed by militants, India hinted that it might abrogate the Indus Water Treaty.

He said Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has tried to improve ties with India, but “we did not get a positive response from them”.

According to Assocham, out of India’s total merchandise trade of $641 billion in 2015-16, Pakistan accounted for a meagre $2.67 billion.

Reports say Pakistan had asked India on August 19 to settle “outstanding disputes pertaining to India’s construction of hydroelectric plants” on two of the rivers governed by it.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Senator Sartaj Aziz Tuesday said Pakistan would be sharing a comprehensive dossier with P-5 countries and the World Bank on India’s threats to revoke the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

Pakistan responded by calling Swaraj’s speech a “litany of falsehoods” that distorted history, and denied its forces had aided the army base attack.

Describing Pakistan as the “true epicentre” of global terror, India added that Islamabad’s trust in the methods of terror are so “deep” that it does not hesitate in using them on its own people in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas.

The meeting discussed ways to make Pakistan pay for the terrorist attack, in a bid to extend the retaliation against the strike beyond efforts to isolate Pakistan diplomatically.

India says militants sneaked across the de facto border that separates the countries and killed 18 soldiers on September 18, the largest loss of life for Indian security forces in the area for 14 years. Swaraj said he rejected Islamabad statements about the alleged repression of security forces of New Delhi in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir.

“We would once again strongly urge the Government of Pakistan to take seriously its commitment not to allow terrorist attacks against India from its soil and territory under its control”.