KARACHI, Pakistan 

Pakistan's top diplomat Ishaq Dar urged India on Monday to abandon "misguided policies" and instead promote regional cooperation in South Asia.

At a conference hosted by the Institute for Strategic Studies Islamabad, Dar said India's "impulsive actions" have long hampered regional cooperation and rendered the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation—an eight-nation intergovernmental body—ineffective.

Last month, the two South Asian nuclear neighbors were embroiled in one of the worst hostilities in decades, following an attack on April 22 at the Pahalgam tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. 

Islamabad responded with a "quid pro quo plus" response, which is the "new normal" set by Pakistan if India persists in its dangerous notion of "limited war under the nuclear threshold," said Dar.

Pakistan's current foreign policy’s focus “is on geo-economics,” said Dar, urging India to “rethink its present hubris and misguided policies that threaten peace and undermine security in South Asia.”

There has been no immediate response from New Delhi.   

Indus Waters Treaty

On India’s move to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, Dar vowed that Pakistan “will continue to mobilize all international and legal forums to highlight India’s violation of international law."

In an unprecedented move, New Delhi suspended the treaty—which governs water access for millions—following the Pahalgam attack.

Last week, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (CoA) observed that the decades-long water-sharing pact does not have a provision for the unilateral "abeyance" or "suspension," and the treaty “continues in force until terminated with the mutual consent of India and Pakistan.”

Reiterating Pakistan’s support for Kashmir, Dar said: “Sustainable peace in South Asia remains contingent on a just and lasting solution to the lingering Kashmir dispute.”

Separately, Islamabad on Monday urged India to "immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty and fulfill its treaty obligations, wholly and faithfully." 

New Delhi has rejected CoA's ruling.  

Regional cooperation, reimagined

Rather than conflict, the region “needs a positive lift for solidarity, mutually beneficial collaborations, and shared prosperity,” Dar said.

Calling for a “reimagination of regional cooperation” in South Asia, he said Pakistan is also building closer ties with Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Noting a trilateral cooperation mechanism launched earlier this month between Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh, he said Islamabad and Afghanistan have also set out to restore their strained ties in recent months.