A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that "blood and water cannot flow together," Pakistan said on Tuesday that India cannot opt out "unilaterally" from Indus Waters Treaty. India is reportedly considering opting out of the key water-sharing agreement in retaliation for the Uri terror attack.
"According to international law, India can't unilaterally separate itself from the treaty," Sartaz Aziz, the Adviser on Foreign Affairs to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was quoted as saying by Pakistani media.
18 soldiers were martyred when terrorists attacked an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18.
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“If India violates treaty Pak can approach International Court of Justice. The treaty (Indus Waters Treaty) was not suspended even during the Kargil and the Siachen wars. According to international law India can’t unilaterally separate itself from treaty,” Pak Media quoted Sartaj Aziz as saying.
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On Monday, the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries was a “first step” taken by India, sources said. The sources also said that depending upon Pakistan’s response, India may take “further steps” in this regard.
"Blood and water cannot flow together," sources on Monday quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as saying at a meeting with top officials to assess the 50-year-old treaty with Pakistan days after the Uri attacks. Modi on Moday chaired a meeting to review the Indus Water treaty with Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary and senior PMO officials are present at the meeting.
The review is being undertaken as India weighs options to give a befitting response to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead.
There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack.
(With inputs from PTI)
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