The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday refuted reports that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared any information regarding Iran’s nuclear programme during a meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Dar met with Rubio on May 29 during a brief visit to Washington, where the two discussed bilateral cooperation as well as regional security issues. Rubio had praised Islamabad’s role “in advancing peace in the Middle East”. Responding to queries during a weekly press briefing on Thursday, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan rejected reports of the deputy premier “exchanging any kind of information about Iran’s nuclear programme”. “No such information was shared,” he added. The spokesperson’s remarks come after former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst Larry Johnson, quoting an unnamed source, claimed that Dar had a conversation with Rubio that “revealed what Iran is prepared to do to preserve its independence”, which allegedly “alarmed” Rubio. Rubio had also responded to the claims during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. US Congressman Scott Perry asked him if Dar had delivered a message that Iran is “prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon should the current escalation continue”. “I have not seen that reporting and I am not aware of any such message,” Rubio responded. Perry again referred to the reports, to which Rubio said that no such message had been delivered. “I would be surprised if that message had been relayed. I would be aware of it if it was,” he said. The US-Iran conflict is currently stalemated in a shaky ceasefire struck in April, which was followed by historic direct talks between the warring parties hosted by Pakistan. Though daily strikes throughout Iran and the Gulf have stopped since then, bursts of armed conflict have continued. The US and Iran exchanged attacks on each other’s military targets on Monday. After the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran responded with a missile attack on Wednesday, damaging Kuwait’s airport and resulting in casualties. Since the conflict began, Iran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region home to US military bases. Meanwhile, Israel’s expanding front in Lebanon has proved to be the main spoiler in the peace process, with rising tensions even prompting US President Donald Trump to tell Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the attacks. Nevertheless, diplomacy has continued with Trump under pressure to reach an agreement that would lift the US and Iranian competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, which have choked international oil supplies and threatened the global economy with rising prices. India’s plans to divert Chenab water Meanwhile, the FO also denounced India’s plans to build a river-linking project to divert water from Chenab to the Beas river as a “grave violation” of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and other international laws. Chenab forms at the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers in Lahaul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. The IWT, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allocates the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan, and the three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India. According to Indian news outlet CNBC TV18 , India will begin work on the proposed “Link-3 Project”, located on Chenab in Himachal Pradesh, on August 1. The project aims to divert surplus water from the Chenab river to the Beas basin and is estimated to cost 26.2 billion Indian rupees, as per ANI . Responding to a query, Andrabi said, “Yes, we have seen this report as well as the public tendered document issued by the government of India that India has invited bids for the Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel project with the intention of transferring 1.9m acre feet of water annually from Chenab into the Beas system. “Such an inter-basin diversion of water of the Chenab into the Beas system constitutes a grave violation of not just the IWT but also of the laws of treaty, particularly the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties , as well as the broader framework of international water law, including the principles reflected in the 1977 UN convention on watercourses,” he added. The FO spokesperson also highlighted India’s planned “silt flushing” of the Salal Dam in occupied Kashmir’s Reasi district. “This is a deeply concerning development. It would provide water control capability that is not permissible under either the Indus Waters Treaty or the 1978 Salal agreement,” he pointed out. Andrabi noted that India had neither officially communicated nor shared any notice of these projects nor has it sought consultations in this regard. “These projects confirm that India seeks to weaponise water. This carries dangerous implications not only for Pakistan’s economy but also for regional stability and international peace and security,” he stressed. Emphasising that Pakistan had “exercised restraint and responsibility” and remained committed to dialogue, Andrabi warned, “However, any illegal action, any illegal measure to endanger Pakistan’s water, food and economic security, as well as the survival and well-being of its 250 million people, is unacceptable.” He stated that such actions amount to “further destabilisation of South Asia, with potential grave consequences” for the entire region. “Under IWT, Pakistan is entitled to receive the unrestricted use of the water of the western rivers, and this is in lieu of the rights of the eastern rivers that were given to India,” Andrabi noted. The FO spokesperson asserted that Pakistan “retains all options necessary for safeguarding rights and entitlements under the treaty and to protect its vital national interests”. “Let me emphasise, we retain all options in this regard,” he reiterated. The FO urged the international community to call upon India to “desist from any form of water coercion, abandon projects that seek to stop, reduce or divert water flow legally belonging to Pakistan, and restore full and faithful implementation of the IWT”.
FO rejects reports of Dar sharing information on Iran's nuclear programme during meeting with Rubio
The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday refuted reports that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared any information regarding Iran’s nuclear programme during a meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Dar met with Rubio on May 29 during a brief visit to Washington, where the two discussed bilateral cooperation as well as regional security issues. Rubio had praised Islamabad’s role “in advancing peace in the Middle East”. Responding to queries during a weekly press briefing on Thursday, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan rejected reports of the deputy premier “exchanging any kind of information about Iran’s nuclear programme”. “No such information was shared,” he added. The spokesperson’s remarks come after former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst Larry Johnson, quoting an unnamed source, claimed that Dar had a conversation with Rubio that “revealed what Iran is prepared to do to preserve its independence”, which allegedly “alarmed” Rubio. Rubio had also responded to the claims during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. US Congressman Scott Perry asked him if Dar had delivered a message that Iran is “prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon should the current escalation continue”. “I have not seen that reporting and I am not aware of any such message,” Rubio responded. Perry again referred to the reports, to which Rubio said that no such message had been delivered. “I would be surprised if that message had been relayed. I would be aware of it if it was,” he said. The US-Iran conflict is currently stalemated in a shaky ceasefire struck in April, which was followed by historic direct talks between the warring parties hosted by Pakistan. Though daily strikes throughout Iran and the Gulf have stopped since then, bursts of armed conflict have continued. The US and Iran exchanged attacks on each other’s military targets on Monday. After the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran responded with a missile attack on Wednesday, damaging Kuwait’s airport and resulting in casualties. Since the conflict began, Iran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region home to US military bases. Meanwhile, Israel’s expanding front in Lebanon has proved to be the main spoiler in the peace process, with rising tensions even prompting US President Donald Trump to tell Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the attacks. Nevertheless, diplomacy has continued with Trump under pressure to reach an agreement that would lift the US and Iranian competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, which have choked international oil supplies and threatened the global economy with rising prices. India’s plans to divert Chenab water Meanwhile, the FO also denounced India’s plans to build a river-linking project to divert water from Chenab to the Beas river as a “grave violation” of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and other international laws. Chenab forms at the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers in Lahaul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. The IWT, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allocates the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan, and the three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India. According to Indian news outlet CNBC TV18 , India will begin work on the proposed “Link-3 Project”, located on Chenab in Himachal Pradesh, on August 1. The project aims to divert surplus water from the Chenab river to the Beas basin and is estimated to cost 26.2 billion Indian rupees, as per ANI . Responding to a query, Andrabi said, “Yes, we have seen this report as well as the public tendered document issued by the government of India that India has invited bids for the Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel project with the intention of transferring 1.9m acre feet of water annually from Chenab into the Beas system. “Such an inter-basin diversion of water of the Chenab into the Beas system constitutes a grave violation of not just the IWT but also of the laws of treaty, particularly the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties , as well as the broader framework of international water law, including the principles reflected in the 1977 UN convention on watercourses,” he added. The FO spokesperson also highlighted India’s planned “silt flushing” of the Salal Dam in occupied Kashmir’s Reasi district. “This is a deeply concerning development. It would provide water control capability that is not permissible under either the Indus Waters Treaty or the 1978 Salal agreement,” he pointed out. Andrabi noted that India had neither officially communicated nor shared any notice of these projects nor has it sought consultations in this regard. “These projects confirm that India seeks to weaponise water. This carries dangerous implications not only for Pakistan’s economy but also for regional stability and international peace and security,” he stressed. Emphasising that Pakistan had “exercised restraint and responsibility” and remained committed to dialogue, Andrabi warned, “However, any illegal action, any illegal measure to endanger Pakistan’s water, food and economic security, as well as the survival and well-being of its 250 million people, is unacceptable.” He stated that such actions amount to “further destabilisation of South Asia, with potential grave consequences” for the entire region. “Under IWT, Pakistan is entitled to receive the unrestricted use of the water of the western rivers, and this is in lieu of the rights of the eastern rivers that were given to India,” Andrabi noted. The FO spokesperson asserted that Pakistan “retains all options necessary for safeguarding rights and entitlements under the treaty and to protect its vital national interests”. “Let me emphasise, we retain all options in this regard,” he reiterated. The FO urged the international community to call upon India to “desist from any form of water coercion, abandon projects that seek to stop, reduce or divert water flow legally belonging to Pakistan, and restore full and faithful implementation of the IWT”.