Pakistan convincingly tapped the SCO forum to call for a “structural” dialogue on all outstanding disputes. At the Tianjin Summit, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif drove the attention of its member states towards India’s unilateral suspension of Indus Water Treaty (IWT), terming it a violation of international law. The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague has already issued a “Supplemental Award of Competence”, stating that India cannot unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance.
Inviting the SCO attention towards an issue of grave concern for the 245 million Pakistanis, Shehbaz made it clear that Islamabad respects all “international and bilateral treaties”. His assertion invoked the conscience of law-abiding countries to reprimand New Delhi for holding the IWT in abeyance at the peril of peace and security in the region. He also laid out a roadmap of reconciliation and engagement with arch-rival India, by saying that “uninterrupted access to due share of water as per existing treaties among SCO members will strengthen the working smoothly”, and will support the achievement of broader goals for which the organisation was established.
The summit could not have come at a more opportune moment as India and China are warming up for a thaw. Likewise, the monsoon floods in Pakistan and India drive a pertinent point that climate change is inevitable, and both the countries must cooperate by putting aside issues of political exigency. Delhi’s adamant stance to “penalise” Islamabad by holding back its water share as a lower riparian state, floodgate its agrarian lands and stir trouble by unleashing non-state actors is devoid of its role as a responsible emerging power. Pakistan at SCO moot strongly underscored that lacunae on the part of India, and rested its case in due solemnity.
It’s time for both Pakistan and India to make use of such multilateral fora to talk it out, and not to shy away for reasons of point scoring. The Global South states, especially China, need to use their weight to broker a dialogue, and persuade India to step back from the brink.
