QURESHI-INDIA 2LST

Qureshi repeated his assertion that about 30 million
acre feet of river waters is wasted or mismanaged within
Pakistan while responding to a question on differences with
India over the sharing of river waters.
He said if river waters entering Pakistan is wasted,
Pakistan cannot then "blame" India for the phenomenon.
"That is our own mismanagement. If we are getting 104
million acre feet of water and we use 74 million acre feet,
where is the rest of the water going? You cannot blame India
for that," he remarked.
At the same time, Qureshi acknowledged that Pakistan
had differences with India over the sharing of waters and that
he had raised this matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
If the two countries could not resolve these
differences bilaterally, other options are available to them
under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, he said.
"We have a very good treaty in place and I don't think
we should move away from it. We should focus on it and find
solutions while remaining within that treaty," Qureshi said.
Responding to a question on India's alleged
involvement in fomenting unrest in Balochistan province, he
said: "We have evidence and proof which we can raise. We
looked at the situation in the region and weighed our options
and decided to use diplomatic channels and not the media.
"There is now progress and our views are accepted by
many forces, who agree that instability in Balochistan is not
in the interest of the region. They also agree that Afghan
soil should not to be used against Pakistan."
Qureshi also said Pakistan has expressed its concerns
about India's "Cold Start" defence doctrine, which he
described as "very dangerous".
He added: "If Cold Start is implemented, will Pakistan
just sit by and wait?... If the Indian armed forces are ready,
Pakistan is not complacent. The Pakistani military is keeping
an eye (on the situation) and is aware of its
responsibilities. But that is not a solution to the problem.
This is mutual suicide and we should not do it."
India and Pakistan took steps to a phased
re-engagement during recent visits to Islamabad by Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao and Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir
exchanged proposals to be taken up during a meeting of the
Foreign Ministers in Islamabad on July 15.
Chidambaram spoke of the need for Pakistan to do more
to bring the perpetrators and masterminds of the Mumbai
attacks to justice during his meeting with Interior Minister
Rehman Malik. PTI RHL
RBT


The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive
use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged
information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please
notify the sender immediately and destroy
all copies of this message and any attachments contained in it.


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next