New Delhi: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar warned that India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty has “weaponised” water and could have serious consequences for peace and security in South Asia. He made the remarks while speaking at an Indus Waters Treaty conference held in Islamabad.
India announced in April last year that it was suspending the six-decade-old treaty after accusing Pakistan of backing a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, that killed 26 people. Pakistan has repeatedly denied any role in the attack.
Speaking at the conference, Dar said the treaty was not just a water-sharing agreement but a key tool for regional stability. “The Indus Waters Treaty is not merely, as I said, a water-sharing arrangement, but a vital instrument of regional peace, stability and cooperation. Let us reaffirm that shared waters must never be weaponised,” he said.
He said the issue was not a matter of legal debate for Pakistan but one of survival. “Water is the lifeline of more than 250 million people or nationals, our agriculture, our security, energy production and economic development depend upon the uninterrupted flow of the three western rivers to Pakistan. Protecting these waters is therefore a matter of vital national interest,” Dar said.
The minister rejected India’s decision to put the treaty on hold, calling it unilateral and against international law. “Pakistan’s position is very, very clear. We reject India’s unilateral and illegal announcement. The Indus Waters Treaty remains valid, binding and fully operative. No party can unilaterally suspend or terminate its obligations under a treaty that contains no such provision,” he said.
Dar added that any move to block Pakistan’s share of water would have wide consequences. “Any attempt to deprive Pakistan of the waters rightfully allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty would have profound consequences for regional peace and security. Such actions serve neither country and would undermine the shared interests of nearly two billion people in South Asia,” he said.
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 with the help of the World Bank. It gives India control over the three eastern rivers, the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, while Pakistan gets the larger share of water from the three western rivers, the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. The agreement had survived three wars between the two countries before being put in abeyance last year.
India has firmly defended its decision. The Ministry of External Affairs has said on several occasions that the treaty will stay suspended until Pakistan ends its support for cross-border terrorism. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India is no longer bound by treaty obligations as long as it remains in abeyance, and added that Pakistan must take credible and irreversible steps against terrorism before the matter can be reconsidered. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah has also said the treaty would never be restored.
New Delhi has also rejected attempts by an international Court of Arbitration to rule on the matter, calling the body illegally constituted and saying it has no jurisdiction over India’s sovereign decisions. India has gone ahead with hydropower projects on the western rivers, including the Dulhasti Stage-II project on the Chenab, which Pakistan says violates the treaty’s terms.
Pakistan, on its part, has taken the issue to international forums, including the United Nations Security Council, asking it to take note of what it calls India’s continued violations of the treaty.
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have remained high since the Pahalgam attack and India’s subsequent military action under Operation Sindoor. Both countries continue to hold opposing views on the legal status of the treaty, with no signs yet of the dispute being resolved through dialogue.
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