India violating treaty on river waters: Pak

Pakistan said on Thursday that India had been violating a treaty on the sharing of river waters and that it had "strong reservations" over two hydropower projects being built in Jammu and Kashmir.

"There have been violations by India of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. For instance, we still have strong reservations vis-a-vis the Kishanganga and Nimmo-Bazgo projects," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing.

Pakistan wants to settle all differences and disputes with India over the sharing of river waters in accordance with the dispute settlement mechanism of the Indus Waters Treaty, Basit said, while replying to a question.

Basit did not respond to a query on reported remarks by Pakistan's Indus Waters Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah that the two sides had resolved differences over some projects following recent talks held in Delhi.

He said the foreign office could not comment on the matter as the agreed minutes of the meeting in Delhi were yet to be received.

Pakistan recently informed India of its intention to set up a court of arbitration under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty to resolve differences over the Kishanganga hydropower project.

Responding to another question, Basit said the "trust deficit" between Pakistan and India was not a new phenomenon as it dated back to Pakistan's independence and the "lingering Jammu and Kashmir dispute".

"We do need to bridge this gap seriously and as far as we are concerned, we are approaching the meeting which will take place in Islamabad between the two Foreign Ministers on July 15 with sincerity of purpose," he said. Pakistan hopes that "this re-engagement would lead to a sustained and meaningful dialogue process" so that the region and bilateral relations are freed from conflicts and disputes, he said.

The settlement of disputes is important for building "normal relations between our two countries", he added.

Asked about remarks by American officials that the upcoming India-US strategic dialogue would include parleys on India's role in Afghanistan, Basit made it clear that relations between Delhi and Kabul should not affect Islamabad's interests.

"Afghanistan and India do have bilateral relations. As sovereign countries, they are entitled to have bilateral relations to their mutual benefit and interests. Our position has always been that these relations should not be at the cost of Pakistan's security and stability," he said.

Basit expressed the hope that the India-US strategic dialogue would help "promote peace and prosperity in our region".

Pakistan wants US-India relations to be a "factor of stability in South Asia", he added.

The US, while taking Pakistan into confidence on its upcoming dialogue with India, had said that it "would continue pursuing vigorously the goal of expanding and diversifying Pakistan-US relations in our mutual interest", Basit said.