Kerry warns of escalation in Indo-Pak tension due to climatic changes

Washington, June 17 (ANI): The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, John Kerry, expressing concerns over the deteriorating environmental conditions in South Asia, has said that the changing climate of the region could adversely affect the relationship between India and Pakistan.

Kerry, in his speech titled 'Climate change and American foreign policy: security challenges, diplomatic opportunities, said the problems of climatic change were acute in South Asia, which could have a serious impact on the relations of the two nuclear powers of the region.

'Nowhere is the nexus between today's threats and climate change more acute than in South Asia , the home of Al Qaeda and the centre of our terrorist threat," The Dawn quoted Kerry, as saying.

He highlighted the repercussions of the scientists' warnings about the disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035.

"Think about what this means: Water from the Himalayas flows through India into Pakistan. India's rivers are not only vital to its agriculture, but absolutely central to its religious practice," Kerry said.

"Pakistan, for its part, is heavily dependent on irrigated farming to avoid famine," he added.

Kerry said that while the United States was trying hard to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, it was exasperating to know that environmental issues could work against such steps.

"It's infuriating to think that climate change could work so powerfully in the opposite direction, when the American government was scrambling to ratchet down tensions," Kerry added. (ANI)