Indus Water Treaty: US asks India, Pakistan to work together to resolve issue

The Indus Waters Treaty has served as a model for peaceful cooperation between India and Pakistan for now 50 years, State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Washington: The US on Wednesday asked India and Pakistan to work together bilaterally to resolve any differences over the key Indus Water Treaty while skirting questions whether it would mediate between the two nations to settle the issue.

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Pakistani Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar over the phone on the Indus Water Treaty issue.

"I can confirm that he (Kerry) did speak on the 29th of December with Finance Minister Dar. I am not going to read that out in any great detail," State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference.

"The Indus Waters Treaty has served as a model for peaceful cooperation between India and Pakistan for now 50 years."

"We encourage, as we have in the past, India and Pakistan to work together to resolve any differences," Kirby said.

However, he refused to entertain questions on if the US has offered help to India and Pakistan resolve the issue.

"As I said, we encourage India and Pakistan to work together bilaterally to resolve their differences," he said.

"We are in regular communication with the Indian and Pakistani governments on a wide range of issues," Kirby said.

Earlier, Pakistan had sought the support of the US on the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with India even as Kerry had called for an amicable settlement of the issue between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The development came after Pakistan was irked by the World Bank pause in mediation to resolve differences over the construction of two water projects by India.