Pakistan doesn’t want escalation with India: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood on Wednesday said that Pakistan did not want escalation with India as it required only two sentences.

He said that he had many things to say about the attitude of India with regard to ties with Pakistan but Pakistan always strived for friendly ties with all its neighbours. He expressed these views while talking to media men after his meeting with World Bank delegation.

Qureshi asked the World Bank to empanel the Court of Arbitration over illegal construction of dams by India on western rivers. Talking to the President of the Bank Jim Yong Kim on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York he said Indian construction of Kishanganga and Ratle dams represent a violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

The focus of the meeting was the World Bank’s role in implementation of the Treaty. The minister emphasised that the procedural delay on Pakistan’s request to the World Bank had resulted in completion of the Kishan Ganga Project while construction work on Ratle is in progress.

He said that the new government viewed this as a humanitarian issue with lives and livelihood of millions at stake.

The President of the World Bank said that he understands Pakistan’s position on the Treaty and the Bank desires to play a constructive role in resolving this important matter at the earliest. He indicated that the World Bank is in the process of finalising a fresh initiative and would soon be approaching Pakistan and India with details. Speaking at the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan in New York, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has reiterated Pakistan’s support to the principled position of Azerbaijan on the Nagorno Karabakh issue. He said that unresolved conflict poses serious threat to regional peace and security. The foreign minister said that Pakistan’s position on the issue remains unchanged and based on the principles established by the UN Security Council resolutions.