Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday warned India against any attempt to undermine the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), saying that it could result in serious consequences for the region and broader international order.
For more than six decades, India and Pakistan amicably managed the Indus River system through the IWT transboundary water-sharing agreement signed on September 19, 1960. In April last year, India suspended the treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
Addressing the inaugural session of an international seminar titled “The Indus Waters Treaty: A Key Instrument for Peace and Regional Stability” at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad, FM Dar said, any attempt to deprive Pakistan of its lawful water rights under the treaty would have profound consequences for peace and security in South Asia, a home to almost two billion people.
“If international agreements can be disregarded wherever they become politically inconvenient, confidence in the international legal order is inevitably weakened. The sanctity of treaties is one of the foundations upon which peaceful relations among states are built.”
He explained that the implications extended “well beyond South Asia”.
Read: ‘We are talking about our lifeline, not a treaty’, Tarar says at IWT seminar
Detailing the apprehensions Pakistan reserved about the overlooking of the IWT, he said that since April 2025, the country observed a pattern of objectionable measures undertaken by India, including “abrupt variations” in the flow of Chenab and Jhelum Rivers as well as continuous efforts to expand infrastructure capable of regulating western rivers’ flow.
“Such transgressions in international relations set dangerous precedents, dent national credibility and challenge the foundations of inter-state cooperation.”
For Pakistan, he said, it was not merely a legal debate as water was the lifeline of more than 250 million people.
FM Dar emphasised that agriculture, food security, energy production and wider economic development relied on the uninterrupted flow of the three western rivers allocated to Pakistan.
“Protecting these waters is a matter of vital national interest,” he underscored.
The deputy PM advised India to avoid actions that could heighten tensions, saying New Delhi should refrain from “sowing the seeds of war” and placing the peace and stability of more than 2 billion people at risk.
Also Read: Zardari urges India to fully restore IWT, warns against ‘weaponisation’ of water
He said lasting peace in the region could only be achieved through dialogue, diplomacy and the treaty mechanisms established to resolve outstanding disputes, rather than through the use or threat of force.
Highlighting Pakistan’s efforts to ensure peace in the region, Dar said the country had consistently adhered to those principles and would continue to do so; however, durable peace depended on mutual respect, sovereign equality and the faithful implementation of international obligations.
He reiterated that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of its lawful riverine rights under the treaty would be met with stern opposition.
The treaty, negotiated over several years, was intended to ensure the fair and effective use of shared water resources by both countries, the DPM asserted, while contending that Islamabad neither sought confrontation nor war, but would not accept any illegal diversion of or encroachment on its share of water bodies.
Pakistan would use all legal and diplomatic avenues available under international law to safeguard its rights and interests, he stated further.
“We respect international law and treaties.”
Recalling the illegal suspension of IWT by India, FM Dar said the National Security Committee, comprising civilian and military leaders, had unanimously decided to call any attempt to divert Pakistan’s share of water, stop its flow or reduce its legal water rights “an act of war”.
He said the decision reflected national consensus and reaffirmed the country’s determination to protect its water rights.
Read more: Dar writes to UNSC seeking action over India’s attempts to alter river flows
Dar also said Pakistan had consistently sought to promote peace and stability in the region and had supported efforts to reduce tensions and encourage dialogue during the recent US-Iran conflict.
“In a recent Oslo forum, a US envoy called Pakistan the net security provider in the region,” he noted.
Pakistan’s foreign policy was based on mutual respect, equality and peaceful relations with all countries, FM Dar said, adding that the United Nations Security Council had a responsibility to maintain international peace and security.
He also reminded India that the country held the presidency of the UN Security Council and continued to support multilateralism and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
FM Dar asserted that the government would continue to pursue peaceful, legal and diplomatic means to protect its interests.
“Shared waters must never be weaponised,” he concluded.
