Key facts
- Pakistan warned that India depriving it of water under the Indus Waters Treaty would be "weaponization of water" with serious consequences for regional peace and security.
- Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated water should not be used as a political tool and called India's 2025 suspension of the treaty "illegal".
- Pakistan considers any attempt to divert, interrupt, or reduce water allocated to it under the treaty an "act of war".
- Pakistan's Indus River System Authority chairman alleged India reduced water flows in the Chenab River, violating the treaty.
- The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, regulates water sharing between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan has warned that any attempt by India to deprive it of its share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty would constitute the "weaponization of water" and could lead to serious consequences for regional peace and security. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar made these remarks at an international seminar on the 1960 treaty, which governs water sharing between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Dar emphasized that water should never be used as a political tool and described India's 2025 decision to suspend its participation in the agreement as "illegal." He stated that Pakistan considers the treaty to remain valid and legally binding, as no party can unilaterally suspend obligations under an agreement that lacks such a provision. Pakistan's National Security Committee has previously declared that any attempt to divert, interrupt, or reduce water allocated to Pakistan would be treated as an "act of war."
Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of violating the treaty since New Delhi announced its suspension following an attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Mehar Ali Shah, chairman of Pakistan’s Indus River System Authority, alleged that India has reduced water flows in the Chenab River in recent months, in violation of the treaty. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also stated that the treaty cannot be unilaterally amended, revoked, suspended, or placed in abeyance, highlighting the increasing importance of protecting the agreement amidst climate change and growing water scarcity.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, has historically survived multiple wars between India and Pakistan and is regarded as one of the few enduring agreements between the two nations, despite decades of hostility over Kashmir.