External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the Indus Waters Treaty is a technical matter and future course of action will depend on talks between Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan.

” It will not be right for me to speak publically about what is happening in Pakistan. This is a technical matter, Indus Commissioners of both countries will talk about the Indus Water Treaty.

We can only discuss our future steps after that,” he said. India issued notice to Pakistan for modification of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of September 1960 after Islamabad’s actions adversely impinged the provisions of the treaty.

The notice was conveyed on January 25 through respective Commissioners for Indus Waters as per Article XII (3) of the IWT.

The objective of the notice for modification is to provide Pakistan with an opportunity to enter into intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to rectify the material breach of the IWT. This process would also update IWT to incorporate the lessons learned over the last 62 years.

India has always been a responsible partner in implementing the IWT. Pakistan’s actions, however, have encroached on the provisions of IWT and their implementation and forced India to issue an appropriate notice for modification of IWT.

Highlighting sea-change in India’s foreign policy, Jaishankar said that the country’s influence has reached beyond the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Speaking at the publication ceremony of the book “Bharat Marg” written by Jaishankar, he said, “Nowadays India’s influence has reached beyond the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, this is why I speak on history, big countries always think only about themselves, this is a deficiency in their DNA.”

Jaishankar was in Pune for the release of his English book “The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World,” which has been translated into Marathi as ‘Bharat Marg’.

The Marathi version of Jaishankar’s book was released by Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis. Asserting that foreign policy has huge significance in country’s growth in the world, he said, “that in every country, foreign policy is made by the central government….but in big countries, this policy is not made only by the centre, many different states also participate in it.”

“Everyone’s participation in the foreign policy of our country is its foundation,” he said. The EAM said that everyone in the country is connected with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during India’s G20 Presidency.

“It should not be limited to Delhi only. It has been my endeavour since the beginning to take the foreign policy out of the Ministry of External Affairs to the common people, similarly, the language in this book is in the language of very common people and not in technical language.”

“This time there will be 200 meetings in G20. Through these meetings, we want to show the world that whoever comes to India and sees the change, see India’s enthusiasm and positivity for the world,” he added.

Talking about his book, he said that by taking lessons from history, we always have to be aware of the world. “Through my article, I have warned that there are many shortcomings of globalization, which is evident from results coming out from other countries.”

Jaishankar also advised against leaving foreign policy only to Babus or foreign service workers, and said that sometimes it should include common people also.

“Foreign policy of 1980 and 1990 was going one way and the country on one side. This should not happen, common people should also be taken along. I have written about this in my book,” said Jaishankar.

Talking about India-China relations he said, “If we talk about any land, then this land was occupied by China in 1962, they (opposition) don’t tell you, they will show that it happened the day before yesterday… If I am lacking in thought then I can use my army or intelligence. I will talk to them. I don’t call the Chinese ambassador to ask for my news,” he said.

Jaishankar said that today the world is standing at our doors and said that if we have to take self-reliance forward, then we have to strengthen the domestic supply chain, we cannot depend on others, so we have to support SMEs.

“This time on January 26 Republic-Day parade, most of the weapons were Made in India and some were made in Pune as well,” he said.

Regarding the pressure on India due to the Ukraine conflict, he said, “PM Modi was very clear, he said that it should happen, it should be in the interest of India, so my work was easy with the clarity of the Prime Minister.”