Pakistan says it desires normal neighbourly relations with India

Islamabad: Pakistan always remains desirous of normal neighbourly relations with India, the country's Foreign Office said on Friday.

“We want to pursue the track of diplomacy. Pakistan’s commitment is well known and very clear on that,” Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said when asked about the normalisation of relations with India.

“Pakistan always remains desirous of normal neighbourly relations with India,” he said.

The spokesperson said that India's action of placing the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance is “totally illegal and has no standing in terms of international law”.

A day after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in "abeyance".

Last month, Pakistan urged India to resume the normal functioning of the IWT, saying the recent decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague showed that the agreement was still "valid and operational".

India has never recognised the proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration after Pakistan raised objections to certain design elements of the two projects under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty.

India on Friday strongly rejected the ruling, saying it has never recognised the so-called framework for dispute resolution with Pakistan.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said that at the political level, the treaty remains the cornerstone of the management of a critical resource which is water, between the two countries, which has withstood the test of so many ups and downs throughout the decades.

“If there is a dispute, the two sides have tried to resolve it through the dispute settlement mechanism in the treaty,” he said.

The spokesperson also said that Pakistan remains committed to the principles and objectives of the SAARC charter and desires SAARC to function as an important forum for regional cooperation.

On cooperation among Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh, he said that China is a very important country that enjoys friendly relations with most of the South Asian countries.

“China pursues an agenda of peace, development, and common prosperity, and in that sense, these three countries are working together. There is nothing out of the ordinary about these mini-lateral processes which we hope will gather strength, and will contribute to the development of all three countries,” he said.