- Pakistan regretted North Korea’s decision to conduct an underground nuclear test.
- Pakistan on Friday successfully tested the nuclear-capable Hatf-II ballistic missile with a range of 180 km(short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile)
- Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline work to start on March 11 and agreements for opening two more border crossings at Gabd and Pasni and for setting up an oil refinery in Gwadar will also be signed
- There is impasse b/w the government and the opposition over who will be the caretaker Premier.
What does the Constitution of Pakistan say?
As per Article 224 of the Constitution, both sides have 3 days after the Assembly’s dissolution to come to an agreement, failing which the matter will automatically go to the 8-member parliamentary committee. If the committee also fails to reach a consensus, it will be up to the Election Commission to select a caretaker Prime Minister.
India and Pakistan
- Both countries agreed on some points for the Sir Creek Issue including:
- De-linking maritime boundaries from land.
- Marking from seaward to the point where both these sides agree.
- Declaring non-defined area (Sir Creek and the approaches) as free zone or the maritime sensitive zone, or turn the area into the a jointly administered maritime park.
- Sir Creek: It is 96 km narrow strip of water in the Rann of Kutch marshlands. The creek, which opens up into the Arabian Sea, divides the Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat with the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is locally called Baan Ganga.
- Dispute: it is a bone of contention b/w India and Pak. The major issue over Sir Creek is about understanding of the maritime boundary b/w the Kutch and the Sindh.
- Little military value but immense economic value
- Region is rich in oil and gas below the sea bed
- With Creek as reference, maritime boundaries will be which will in turn determine the limits of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and continental shelves. EEZs extend to 200 nautical miles (370 km) and can be subjected to commercial exploitation.
- Pakistan stand :
- Pakistan lays claim to the entire creek as per paras 9 and 10 of the Bombay Government Resolution of 1914 inked b/w the then Government of Sindh and Rao Maharaj (the ruler of the princely state of Kutch).
- Although Pakistan doesn’t challenge the 1925 map, it holds that the Thalweg Doctrine in International Law is not relevant in this case as it only holds for bodies of water that are navigable, which the Sir Creek is not.
- India stand
- India supports its stance by citing the Thalweg Doctrine in International Law.
- India rejects the Pakistani stance by maintaining the fact that the creek is navigable in high tide, and that fishing trawlers use it to go out to sea.
- How pakistan affected/losses :
- The Thalweg principle states that river boundaries between two states may be, if the two states agree, divided by the mid-channel.
- If the boundary line is demarcated as per the Thalweg principle, Pakistan stands to lose a substantial share of the territory that was historically part of the province of Sindh.
- Kisenganga Issue
