Pak fails to hand over BSF jawan for 3rd day, says 'option' to revoke Simla pact

Pakistan on Friday said it "has the option" to revoke the if India escalates the conflict between the two countries.

Amid India-Pakistan tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan had on Thursday threatened to suspend all bilateral accords, including the 1972 Simla Agreement.

This was among the steps taken by Islamabad after diplomatic relations and suspended the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). On Friday, Pakistan reiterated that it would take all appropriate steps to preserve the sanctity and smooth implementation of the treaty.

In a related development, Pakistan Rangers refused to hand over a BSF jawan who had inadvertently strayed to the other side, for the third straight day on Friday, and remained non-committal on his whereabouts, official sources said.

The jawan, Constable Purnam Sahu of the 182nd , was apprehended by the Rangers from a farming field along the Ferozepur district of Punjab on Wednesday. Sources told PTI that the BSF has made multiple contacts and sought flag meetings with the Rangers to secure the release of its jawan but the response has "not been positive" until now.

Asked about the implication of revoking the Simla Agreement, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Shafqat Ali said the question was “speculative”.

“The National Security Committee has said very clearly that we have the option to do that if India goes down this path of escalation,” he said referring to Thursday's meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“Relations between two countries are based on certain structures and legal agreements, including the UN Charter, international law and a series of bilateral agreements. If one of the parties is utterly disinterested and if they think that bilateral agreements between the two countries are a favour given to another country, then that is a very unfortunate scenario. And in that case, we will exercise our options as the situation evolves,” Ali said.

He also reiterated what the foreign office press statement said after Thursday’s National Security Committee meeting.

“Noting the reckless and irresponsible behavior of India, which disregards international conventions, UN Security Council Resolutions and international obligations at will, Pakistan shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to Simla Agreement in abeyance, till India desists from its manifested behaviour of fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan; trans-national killings; and non-adherence to international law and UN Resolutions on Kashmir.”

The Simla Agreement recognises the Line of Control between the two countries and declares that differences will be settled through negotiations.

Addressing the weekly press briefing in Islamabad, Ali said, “The Indus Water Treaty is of critical importance for Pakistan's water security and economy. Naturally, we will take all appropriate steps to preserve its sanctity and smooth implementation.

“In the absence of any relevant legal provisions in the treaty, India is in no position to make a unilateral decision to hold it in abeyance,” he said. “The unlawful, unilateral, and irresponsible Indian announcement threatens the very foundations of the entire edifice of interstate cooperation and smooth implementation of the treaties.”

Meanwhile, the BSF has also alerted all its formations and asked them to be on "heightened vigil" along the 2,289 km India-Pakistan border that runs from Jammu in the north to Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat in the west in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and related developments.

Sources said the BSF will continue to seek a field commander level meeting with the Rangers for an early release of the jawan. They said as per established protocol between the two sides, any case of an armed personnel straying inadvertently is dealt with in a professional and prompt manner. It is expected that the BSF jawan will be with his force very soon, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Sahu's family in Hooghly, West Bengal is praying for his safety and early return. "He was serving the nation, and now we don't even know whether he is safe or not. We have heard that he is in Pakistani custody," the jawan's father Bholanath Sahu said.

The jawan was escorting a group of farmers ahead of the border fence and had stepped a few meters for a break under a tree when he was picked up by the Rangers claiming he breached the international border.