DUSHANBE : Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday warned that Pakistan would not allow India to cross the red line by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty unilaterally and endangering millions of lives for narrow political gains.“India’s unilateral and illegal decision to hold in abeyance the Indus Water Treaty, which governs the sharing of the Indus Basin’s water, is deeply regrettable. Millions of lives must not be held hostage to narrow political gains, and Pakistan will not allow this. We will never allow the red line to be crossed,” the prime minister said addressing the High-Level International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation in Dushanbe.
The conference is being attended by over 2,500 delegates from 80 UN member states and 70 international organizations, including prime ministers, vice presidents, ministers, and UN assistant secretaries-general.Prime Minister Shehbaz, in his comprehensive address, touched all the relevant issues, including glacial preservation, Pakistan’s climate vulnerability, 2022 floods in Pakistan, global climate action and responsibility, scientific projections on glacial melt, weaponization of water and call to protect nature and humanity’s shared destiny.
“The world today bears fresh scars from the use of conventional weapons in Gaza that have left deep wounds. As if that were not enough, we are now witnessing an alarming new low—the weaponization of water,” he told the international conference being hosted by Government of Tajikistan in collaboration with the United Nations, UNESCO, WMO, the Asian Development Bank, and other key partners as a historic moment for climate ambition, glacier preservation, and international cooperation.The premier also called for a global action to protect glaciers in Pakistan, which are melting rapidly due to climate change.
“Pakistan has 13,000 glaciers, and it receives half of its water from glaciers. Therefore, glacier protection is very important for Pakistan,” he stressed.Prime Minister Shehbaz said that Pakistan, being home to over 13,000 glaciers, was the most concerning as glaciers contributed nearly half of the annual flows in the Indus River system – the lifeline of our civilisation, culture and economy.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan is among the ten most climate-affected countries, despite contributing less than half a percent to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Due to climate change, Pakistan faced devastating floods in 2022, which destroyed crops and infrastructure, he told the participants.
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