ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI – A 10-member Indian Indus Water delegation that arrived last Sunday for two-day talks to discuss the Indus Waters Treaty dispute, complained on Tuesday that they hadn’t even been asked for water.
Indian Indus Water Commissioner P.P. Saxena, who led the delegation, expressed his disappointment while talking to the media.
“We’ve come all the way from India and you haven’t even asked us for water yet,” Saxena lamented while talking to the media, saying that the behaviour contradicts the South Asian culture, wherein the guest is given utmost importance.
“We’ve waited two days and now we’re about to leave. Who does that?” he said in anger.
Ambassador to India Abdul Basit retorted on National Day, Thursday, saying that India mistakes Pakistan’s traditions and values as its weakness.
“Sometimes things get to a point when you can’t ask for water,” he said while addressing the Pakistan Day celebrations in New Delhi. “Unfortunately, Pakistan-India relations have reached that stage.”
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif said Pakistan would only ask international court of arbitration (ICA) and the World Bank for water.
Asif also told India that it has been taking the wrong hints from Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner Asif Beg’s surname.