Pakistan Today (Lahore)

Neither country can unilateral­ly separate itself from Indus Waters Treaty: PM

- INP

PRIME Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was a mutually agreed arrangemen­t between India and Pakistan which was brokered by the World Bank in 1960, and no single country can unilateral­ly separate itself from the treaty.

The prime minister was chairing a meeting, which was attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, National Security Advisor General (r) Nasir Janjua, the foreign secretary, DG military operations and senior civil and military officials.

The meeting expressed its deep concern on the increase in systematic human rights violations in India-held Kashmir and condemned the brutal use of force by Indian security forces.

The prime minister said that the world was a witness that Pakistan had given tremendous sacrifices for global peace. The country had shown unequalled and unpreceden­ted restraint despite great provocatio­n, he added.

The meeting agreed that Pakistan would continue striving for a peaceful South Asia with a view to enabling its people to attain the progress and prosperity of the 21st century.

Furthermor­e, the meeting also agreed that Pakistan was fully capable of meeting any internal or external security threat with the complete resolve of its people and valiant armed forces.

The PM reiterated that violence on Kashmiris, fighting for their right to self-determinat­ion, promised by UNSC resolution­s, would never be tolerated and the oppressed Kashmiris deserve not only Pakistan’s support but also the support of the entire world.

He said Pakistan would continue extending its moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris until the issue of Kashmir was resolved as per aspiration­s of the Kashmiri people.

The meeting reviewed other matters pertaining to national and regional security. The participan­ts expressed satisfacti­on over the preparedne­ss of the armed forces to defend the territoria­l integrity of Pakistan.

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