DPM, PPP chief, reject Delhi’s suspension of IWT
Ministers vow to defend country’s water rights
Experts urge w
A giant videowall highlights India’s violations of the Indus Waters Treaty since April 2025 during a presentation at a seminar titled ‘Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability’ in Islamabad. Photo: PTV
ISLAMABAD:
The political leadership on Tuesday promised a robust defence of Pakistan’s rights under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) through all available legal and diplomatic means, warning that any attempt to deprive the country of its share of water would have “profound consequences for regional peace and security”.
Political leaders, ministers, legal experts and international scholars also urged the international community to reject the weaponisation of water and uphold the sanctity of international treaties during an international seminar on the treaty held in Islamabad.
The seminar was addressed by several federal ministers, including Ishaq Dar, Attaullah Tarar and Musadik Malik, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Mehar Ali Shah, policy experts from the United States, China and Russia, and other speakers.
The speakers at the seminar, titled ‘Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability’, urged the international community to uphold the treaty, reject the weaponisation of water and ensure disputes were resolved through established legal and diplomatic mechanisms rather than unilateral action.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the six-decade-old IWT could not be suspended or terminated unilaterally. He expressed concern over abrupt variations in the Chenab and Jhelum rivers since April 2025 and said disputes must be resolved through the treaty’s established mechanisms.
He called India’s decision last April to place the treaty in abeyance “illegal, unilateral and without any basis”, adding that Pakistan unequivocally rejected the announcement. “No party can unilaterally suspend or terminate obligations under a treaty that contains no such provision,” he said.
Dar said uninterrupted flows from the western rivers were vital for Pakistan’s agriculture, food security, energy production and economic development. He warned that disregarding international agreements whenever they became politically inconvenient would weaken confidence in the international legal order.
Recalling the National Security Committee’s position following India’s decision, the deputy prime minister warned that any diversion, interruption or reduction of Pakistan’s water rights under the treaty would be treated as an act of war.
“We sincerely advise India against sowing the seeds of war and jeopardising peace and security in the region,” he said, adding that Pakistan remained committed to dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes but there should be “no misunderstanding” about its resolve to safeguard its water rights.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also described India’s decision to hold the treaty in abeyance as “not simply a bilateral dispute but a challenge to international law, global peace and the rights of downstream states”. He called for a new international convention against the weaponisation of waterways.
“International law should explicitly prohibit states from exploiting civilian dependence on shared rivers,” he said. “Water is not a weapon. Thirst is not diplomacy. Famine is not statecraft,” he added, arguing that no upstream state should be allowed to hold downstream populations hostage by manipulating shared waterways.
Bilawal urged Pakistan to pursue its legal, diplomatic, humanitarian, climate and deterrence cases simultaneously while continuing to strengthen domestic water security through reservoirs, barrages, canals and flood protection projects.
Comparing the Indus River with the Strait of Hormuz, Bilawal said lasting peace between Pakistan and India could not be achieved while the treaty remained in abeyance. He said the IWT was far more than a water-sharing arrangement and had served for decades as a cornerstone of regional peace and stability.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan was discussing not merely a treaty but “the lifeline of more than 240 million people”. Describing the Indus as central to Pakistan’s identity and civilisation, he said the country’s people had an inalienable right to its waters.
He said international agreements could not be amended, revoked, suspended or held in abeyance unilaterally, emphasising that the treaty had endured wars and prolonged political tensions for more than six decades because it reflected the principles of good faith and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
“The weaponisation of water undermines regional peace, stability and cooperation,” he said, reiterating that Pakistan remained committed to peaceful engagement and constructive dialogue but would safeguard its water rights through all available legal means.
Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik cited repeated fluctuations in water flows and the experience of a Pakistani farmer displaced by successive floods, saying the issue affected livelihoods, food security and the rights of downstream populations.
Malik warned that if the IWT could be disregarded unilaterally, confidence in the international treaty system itself would be undermined. He called for a binding international covenant on transboundary water governance carrying political, economic and diplomatic consequences.
Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters, Mehar Ali Shah, said the treaty was designed to prevent conflict and keep water disputes out of politics. Calling the Permanent Indus Commission the treaty’s “early warning system”, Shah said Pakistan had continued to fulfil its obligations by sharing data.
He told the seminar that repeated communications with India in this regard had gone unanswered, adding that the absence of timely information left downstream states unable to distinguish between natural river conditions and upstream operations.
Referring to repeated fluctuations in the Chenab River since April 2025, Shah said sudden changes in water flows complicated flood forecasting, disrupted irrigation planning and heightened strategic risks.
Former law minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi called for dialogue between legal experts from both countries within established legal frameworks. Former defence minister Khurram Dastgir Khan accused India of “weaponising water”, saying it threatened millions of people dependent on the Indus basin.
He referred to measures including the suspension of hydrological data sharing, the closure of the Baglihar and Salal dam gates, accelerated water projects and actions affecting river flows. He urged the international community to uphold the principle that shared rivers should never be used as instruments of coercion.
Several international experts attending the seminar echoed similar concerns. Laurie Watkins, a United States policy expert, said withholding hydrological data and failing to respond to Pakistan’s correspondence violated principles of customary international law.
Dr Roxolana Zigon of the University of World Civilizations in Moscow described the Indus Waters Treaty as internationally recognised for its durability and praised Pakistan’s restrained response despite heightened tensions.
Prof Victor Gao of the Centre for China and Globalization termed India’s suspension of the treaty “a crime against humanity”, while Institute of Regional Studies President Ambassador Jauhar Saleem said lasting water security depended not only on the availability of water but also on certainty, transparency, predictability and cooperation.
The seminar concluded with participants reaffirming that the Indus Waters Treaty remained a cornerstone of regional peace and stability. Speakers maintained that transboundary rivers should serve as instruments of cooperation rather than confrontation.
(WITH INPUTS FROM APP)
