India on Thursday accused Pakistan of using a multilateral gathering to spread lies and divert attention from its record of sponsoring terrorism after Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar raised the Kashmir issue and suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty at an ASEAN-related meeting in the Philippines.
Dar, who is also Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, sought global support for resolving disputes in South Asia and said the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty should be dealt with through dialogue and adherence to international law while addressing the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting in Manila. India was represented in the meeting by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said India “categorically rejects the baseless and unwarranted comments” by Dar.
“It is not surprising that Pakistan has once again cynically exploited a multilateral forum to amplify lies, spread state-sponsored disinformation, and distract from its well-documented record of sponsoring cross-border terrorism,” Jaiswal said in a statement.
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He said the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “have been and will always remain” an integral and inalienable part of India, and Pakistan has no right to comment on these issues.
Jaiswal said India’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty is firm – the treaty is “suspended in response to Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, including the dastardly Pahalgam attack.” The treaty will be suspended “until Pakistan credibly and irreversibly renounces its support for cross-border terrorism.”
Jaiswal said India strongly condemns Pakistan’s practice of spreading “officially sponsored misinformation, often dressed in religious terms such as using terms like Hindustan Sedition,” referring to a term Pakistani officials often use to describe terrorist groups they claim are supported by New Delhi.
“This is a futile attempt by the Pakistani establishment to divert attention from its internal crises and its proven role as a safe haven for global terrorist networks,” Jaiswal said. He said that instead of pointing fingers at neighbors and abusing international platforms, Pakistan should dismantle the terrorist infrastructure on its soil and put its house in order from within.
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During his address at the AFA Regional Forum meeting, Dar said the Kashmir issue is “at the heart of regional instability” in South Asia and seeks a peaceful settlement in line with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
He criticized India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, the 1960 agreement that governs the sharing of transboundary rivers. India suspended the treaty in the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which was carried out by an agent of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group.
“We remain deeply concerned by India’s unilaterally illegal decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, seeking to use water resources as a weapon in violation of its international obligations,” Dar said.
Jaishankar stressed the “zero tolerance” approach towards terrorism at the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting and said there should be no doubt that “acts of terrorism will have consequences”.
