Our Bureau
New Delhi
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday strongly rejected Pakistan’s attempts to invoke the shared legacy of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), saying a country that has promoted cross-border terrorism, religious fundamentalism and violence for decades, particularly against minorities, cannot lay claim to a pluralistic cultural heritage.
During the media briefing, while responding to a question on Pakistan’s recent references to the Indus Valley Civilization, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Islamabad’s record on terrorism and minority rights undermines such claims.
“Let me put this straight – a country which has been promoting cross-border terrorism, which has been promoting religious fundamentalism and violence for decades, cannot have any claim to any pluralistic cultural legacy. Their abysmal track record on the protection of minorities and their cultural rights makes such desperate attempts look even more phoney,” Jaiswal said.
Jaiswal was responding in response to a query on Pakistan’s recent references to the “shared legacy of the Indus Valley Civilization.”
Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar had recently described the Indus Valley Civilization as central to Pakistan’s national identity.
“When we identify ourselves as Pakistanis, we ask a question as to who we are. And if you go back into history, the Indus Water Civilization defines us as a people. Whenever I go abroad, I often tell my counterparts that we are the people of the Indus Valley Civilization. Our identification is that we are people based on the banks and tributaries of the mighty River Indus,” Tarar said duirng an event.
This was an attempt made by the Pakistan Minister to bolster Islamabad’s claim over the waters of the Indus river system under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), signed in 1960, under which India and Pakistan share the waters of the river system.
Following the April 22, 2025, terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed, India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance after a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting on April 23, 2025, asserting that the conditions under which the treaty was negotiated had fundamentally changed.
India has repeatedly stated that Pakistan’s state-sponsored cross-border terrorism has eroded the basis for bilateral cooperation under the IWT, reiterating that the treaty cannot be viewed in isolation from Islamabad’s continued support for terrorism.
During the briefing, Jaiswal was also asked about social media videos showing Pakistani Gen Z praising their Indian counterparts during the recent Gen Z-led student protests in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
In response, the MEA spokesperson reiterated India’s position on cross-border terrorism.
“Pakistan has been sponsoring cross-border terrorism against India for several decades now. The people of India, including Gen Z, have been demanding that Pakistani state-sponsored cross-border terrorism must come to an end. We hope their counterparts are taking due note,” he said.