Pakistan doesn’t want escalation with India: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said Pakistan does not want an escalation with India, which requires only two sentences to add fuel to fire.

The foreign minister said he has many things to say about the attitude of India with regards to ties with Pakistan but Islamabad always strived for friendly relations with all its neighbours. He expressed these views while talking to the media after his meeting with the World Bank delegation.

Qureshi asked the World Bank to empanel the Court of Arbitration over the illegal construction of dams by India on the western rivers. Talking to the President of the Bank Jim Yong Kim on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York, he said Indian construction of Kishanganga and Ratle dams represents a violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). The focus of the meeting was the World Bank’s role in enforcement of the treaty.

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

The president of the World Bank said he understands Pakistan’s position on the treaty and the Bank is desirous to play a constructive role in resolving this important matter at the earliest. He indicated that the World Bank was finalising a fresh initiative and would soon approach 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 reiterated Pakistan’s support to the principled position of Azerbaijan on the Nagorno Karabakh issue. He said the unresolved conflict poses serious threat to regional peace and security. The foreign minister said Pakistan’s position on the issue remains unchanged and based on the principles established by the UN Security Council resolutions.