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'Cooperation on trust can't be expected': Indian envoy at UN over Indus Waters Treaty row with Pakistan
India told the UN that cooperation under the Indus Waters Treaty cannot be expected while Pakistan uses cross-border terrorism as state policy.
India on Wednesday reaffirmed its stand on the Indus Waters Treaty and Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), accusing Pakistan of using cross-border terrorism as a tool of state policy. New Delhi reiterated that Kashmir will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.
Speaking at the High-Level Open Debate of the UN Security Council on "Natural Resources Governance: The Foundation of Peace, Security and Prosperity", India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said cooperation between the two neighbours cannot thrive without trust and goodwill.
Also read: Call out Pakistan’s bluff on Indus treaty
India accuses Pakistan of misusing UN platform
He also slammed Pakistan for misusing a UN platform to boost its false narrative.
Responding to Pakistan's intervention, Harish said India had not intended to bring bilateral issues into the debate but had to respond to Islamabad's remarks.
"It was not our intention to bring other issues in this forum, but my delegation is compelled to respond to Pakistan, as it has chosen to misuse today's discussion to peddle its false narrative," he said.
Reaffirming India's stance on Jammu and Kashmir, the envoy said, "For the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, it has always been, is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India. This is the constitutional and legal reality that Pakistan deliberately chooses to ignore."
He further added, "The only outstanding issue with regard to Jammu and Kashmir is the naked aggression and illegal occupation of India's sovereign territory by Pakistan."
Also read: India slams Pakistan over ‘politicising’ UN forum: ‘J&K was, is, and will remain internal matter’
'Cooperation cannot be expected'
Harish also reiterated India's position on the Indus Waters Treaty, linking cooperation under the agreement to the broader security environment between the two countries.
"Our position on the Indus Water Treaty remains clear and consistent. Cooperation on the basis of mutual trust and goodwill cannot be expected when cross-border terrorism is regularly deployed as an instrument of State policy," he said.
The remarks came as India emphasised that cooperation and trust cannot go hand in hand with terrorism, while responding to Pakistan's comments during the Security Council debate.
Also read: Indus Waters Treaty won’t work in present form as Pakistan backs terror: India
India tells Pakistan to focus on its internal challenges
In his concluding remarks, Harish urged Pakistan to address its domestic challenges instead of targeting India in international forums.
"Instead of pointing fingers at India, Pakistan would serve itself and its people far better by putting its own house in order," he said.
The Indian envoy's intervention underscored New Delhi's longstanding position that Jammu and Kashmir remains an integral and inalienable part of India and that any cooperation under the Indus Waters Treaty must be founded on mutual trust and goodwill. India also maintained that Pakistan had sought to divert the focus of the Security Council debate by raising bilateral issues unrelated to the agenda.
