ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday dismissed reports claiming 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 Rubio on May 29 during a brief visit to Washington, where discussions focused on bilateral cooperation and regional security matters. Following the meeting, Rubio praised Pakistan’s role in supporting peace efforts in the Middle East.
Addressing a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected suggestions that the deputy prime minister had conveyed any information related to Iran’s nuclear activities during the talks.
“No such information was shared,” Andrabi said, categorically denying the reports.
The clarification came after former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, citing an unnamed source, alleged that Dar had informed Rubio about Iran’s determination to preserve its independence. According to Johnson, the message supposedly alarmed the US secretary of state.
The issue was also raised during a congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. US Congressman Scott Perry asked Rubio whether Dar had delivered a message indicating that Iran was prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon if the ongoing conflict escalated further.
Rubio responded that he had neither seen the report nor was aware of any such message. When Perry repeated the claim, Rubio again denied that any such communication had been conveyed.
“I would be surprised if that message had been relayed. I would be aware of it if it was,” Rubio told lawmakers.
The US-Iran conflict remains locked in a fragile ceasefire agreed in April after months of hostilities. The truce was followed by unprecedented direct talks between the two sides, hosted by Pakistan.
Although large-scale daily attacks across Iran and the Gulf region have largely ceased, sporadic armed clashes have continued. On Monday, the United States and Iran exchanged strikes against military targets. After US forces carried out attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran responded on Wednesday with a missile strike that damaged Kuwait’s airport and caused casualties.
Since the conflict began, Iran has repeatedly targeted sites across the Gulf region where US military bases are located.
At the same time, tensions on Israel’s Lebanon front have emerged as a major obstacle to broader peace efforts. Escalating violence reportedly prompted US President Donald Trump to urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt military operations.
Despite the setbacks, diplomatic efforts continue as Trump faces growing pressure to secure an agreement that would end competing US and Iranian blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route whose disruption has threatened international energy supplies and pushed up prices.
Pakistan condemns India’s Chenab-Beas water diversion project
During the same briefing, the Foreign Office strongly criticised India’s reported plans to construct a river-linking project that would divert water from the Chenab River to the Beas River, describing the proposal as a serious violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and international law.
The Chenab River originates from the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers in Himachal Pradesh. Under the World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, Pakistan has rights over the western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — while India controls the eastern rivers — the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
According to Indian broadcaster CNBC TV18, India plans to begin work on the proposed “Link-3 Project” on August 1. The project, located on the Chenab in Himachal Pradesh, aims to transfer surplus water from the Chenab basin to the Beas basin and is estimated to cost 26.2 billion Indian rupees, according to ANI.
Commenting on the reports, Andrabi said Pakistan had reviewed both the media coverage and the public tender documents issued by the Indian government. He noted that India had invited bids for the Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel project, which seeks to divert approximately 1.9 million acre-feet of water annually from the Chenab River into the Beas system.
He argued that such an inter-basin transfer would constitute a grave violation not only of the Indus Waters Treaty but also of international treaty obligations, including the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and broader principles of international water law reflected in the 1977 UN Convention on Watercourses.
The FO spokesperson also expressed concern over India’s planned silt-flushing operation at the Salal Dam in occupied Kashmir’s Reasi district.
According to Andrabi, the move would provide India with water-control capabilities that are not permitted under either the Indus Waters Treaty or the 1978 Salal Agreement.
He further stated that India had neither formally informed Pakistan about these projects nor sought consultations on the matter.
“These projects confirm that India seeks to weaponise water,” Andrabi said, warning that such actions could have severe consequences for Pakistan’s economy as well as regional peace and stability.
While reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue and responsible conduct, he stressed that any attempt to undermine the country’s water, food or economic security would be unacceptable.
Andrabi warned that such measures could further destabilise South Asia and carry serious consequences for the wider region.
He emphasised that under the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is entitled to the unrestricted use of waters from the western rivers, a right granted in exchange for India’s control over the eastern rivers.
The spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan reserved all options necessary to safeguard its rights under the treaty and defend its national interests.
“Let me emphasise, we retain all options in this regard,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Andrabi called on the international community to urge India to abandon any projects aimed at stopping, reducing or diverting water flows allocated to Pakistan under the treaty and to restore the full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty.