India on Friday firmly rejected Pakistan’s assertions made at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, reiterating that its position on the Indus Waters Treaty remains unchanged.

The Ministry of External Affairs clarified that the treaty will continue to be held in abeyance until Pakistan irrevocably and credibly halts its sponsorship of cross‑border terrorism.

The MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stressed that Pakistan had misused the ASEAN platform to raise issues that India had already categorically dismissed. He emphasised that India’s stance on the treaty is clear and consistent, linking its suspension directly to Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism.

India also dismissed allegations from Pakistan that it had deliberately caused flooding across the border. Jaiswal explained that the rise in the Chenab river’s water level was entirely due to heavy monsoon rainfall between 20 and 23 July in Jammu and adjoining catchment areas.

He noted that Pakistan’s own Flood Forecasting Division in Lahore had attributed the surge to intense rainfall and forecast that the levels would gradually recede.

The spokesperson underlined that portraying a natural hydrological event as deliberate upstream intervention was factually incorrect and contradicted Pakistan’s own official advisories.

He further rejected claims that India had failed to issue flood warnings, clarifying that river flows had not reached thresholds requiring special alerts. Nevertheless, India would continue to share high‑flood data with Pakistan on humanitarian grounds, as it had done in the past.

India also strongly rebuffed Pakistan’s attempt to raise the Jammu and Kashmir issue at the ASEAN forum. It reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India, and that Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on the matter.

The MEA accused Islamabad of deploying the multilateral platform to spread state‑sponsored disinformation and divert attention from its own record of supporting terrorism.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had criticised India’s decision to keep the treaty in abeyance, but India responded with a firm rejection of his remarks.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the ASEAN‑India, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum ministerial meetings in Manila over the past two days, underscoring India’s active engagement in regional diplomacy.

India’s position reflects a hardened diplomatic posture, linking water management and treaty obligations directly to the cessation of terrorism. The government has consistently maintained that the Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960, cannot be restored until Pakistan credibly abandons its support for cross‑border terror activities.

ANI