ISLAMABAD:
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir has reaffirmed Pakistan’s firm stance on regional sovereignty, saying that Pakistan will never accept India’s hegemony.
This reiteration of resolve came days after Pakistan inflicted a drubbing on India in a military confrontation between the two countries which was triggered by New Delhi’s reckless and provocative missile strikes on civilian infrastructures inside Pakistan.
Speaking during a special wide-ranging session with vice chancellors, principals, and senior faculty members of various universities, Field Marshal Munir stressed the crucial role of educators in shaping the country’s future generations.
However, the focus of his wide-ranging address remained Pakistan’s unwavering position on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and broader regional concerns, particularly with India.
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“Pakistan will never accept Indian hegemony,” said the army chief, drawing a firm line on issues ranging from water rights to the Kashmir dispute. “Water is Pakistan’s red line, and we will not allow any compromise on this basic right of 240 million Pakistanis,” he added.
India has announced “holding in abeyance” the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), an agreement brokered by the World Bank between Islamabad and New Delhi in 1960 to share the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries.
Under the deal, Pakistan was given the right on three rivers, namely Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, while India was granted the right on the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers.
Pakistan, which is heavily dependent on waters from three rivers allotted to it under IWT, has declared that any move to stop or divert its share of water will be considered “an act of war” and that it will use the full spectrum of national power to protect its water share.
