The Indian Express
KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Indicating action against Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said “blood & water can’t flow together at the same time” in meeting with Water ministry officials on Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), sources told The Indian Express.
The meeting was attended by NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary, and senior PMO officials. In the wake of the Uri attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, there have been calls to repeal the treaty, however, in Srinagar, unionist politicians have been talking against such a move even some saying that China will step in such a scenario.
India-Pakistan relations took a hit after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July, and even more so after the suspected militant attack on Uri base in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers.
Last week, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had told the media that “for any such treaty to work, you need mutual trust and goodwill. I will leave it at that”.
Responding to a question from the media, Swarup had said last week that “it cannot be a one-sided affair”, adding that the government will rethink on the Treaty given the growing strain between the two countries.
He also noted that the preamble of the Treaty itself said it was based on “goodwill”.
(The news story was slightly edited as it first appeared in The Indian Express.)
