DPM and PPP chief reject Delhi’s suspension of IWT Ministers vow to defend country’s water rights Experts urge aw
A giant video wall 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 Regional Peace and Stability’ in Islamabad. Photo: PTV
ISLAMABAD:
Political leaders on Tuesday pledged a robust defense 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.”
International political leaders, ministers, legal experts and academics also urged the international community to reject the use of water as a weapon and uphold the sanctity of international treaties during an international seminar on the treaty held in Islamabad.
The seminar featured several federal ministers including Ishaq Dar, Attaullah Tarar and Musadik Malik, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Mehar Ali Shah, policy experts from the US, China and Russia, and other speakers.
Speakers at the seminar, titled “Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Regional Peace and Stability”, urged the international community to defend the treaty, reject the weaponization of water and ensure that disputes were resolved through established legal and diplomatic mechanisms rather than unilateral actions.
Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Ishaq Dar said the IWT, which has been in existence for six decades, cannot be unilaterally suspended or terminated. He expressed concern over abrupt variations in the Chenab and Jhelum rivers since April 2025 and said disputes should be resolved through the mechanisms set out in the treaty.
He called India’s decision last April to put the treaty on hold as “illegal, unilateral and baseless”, adding that Pakistan unequivocally rejected the announcement. “No party may unilaterally suspend or terminate obligations under a treaty that does not contain such a provision,” it said.
Dar said uninterrupted flows of western rivers were vital for Pakistan’s agriculture, food security, energy production and economic development. He warned that ignoring international agreements whenever they became politically inconvenient would undermine 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, disruption or reduction of Pakistan’s water rights under the treaty would be treated as an act of war.
“We sincerely advise India not to sow the seeds of war and endanger peace and security in the region,” he said, adding that Pakistan remains committed to dialogue and peaceful resolution of disputes, but there should be “no misunderstanding” about its determination to safeguard its water rights.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also described India’s decision to put the treaty on hold as “not simply a bilateral dispute but a challenge to international law, global peace and the rights of intermediate states.” He called for a new international convention against the use of weapons in waterways.
“International law should explicitly prohibit states from exploiting civil dependence on shared rivers,” he said. “Water is not a weapon. Thirst is not diplomacy. Hunger 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 national water security through reservoirs, dams, canals and flood protection projects.
Comparing the Indus River to 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 much more than a water-sharing agreement and had served for decades as a cornerstone of regional peace and stability.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan was discussing not just a treaty but “the lifeline of more than 240 million people.” Describing the Indus as central to Pakistan’s identity and civilization, he said the country’s people had an inalienable right to its waters.
He said international agreements cannot be unilaterally modified, revoked, suspended or kept in abeyance, emphasizing that the treaty had withstood protracted wars and political tensions for more than six decades because it reflected the principles of good faith and peaceful resolution of disputes.
“Weaponizing 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 problem affected the livelihoods, food security and rights of downstream populations.
Malik warned that if the IWT could be unilaterally ignored, confidence in the international treaty system itself would be undermined. He called for a binding international pact on transboundary water governance that has political, economic and diplomatic consequences.
Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters, Mehar Ali Shah, said the treaty was designed to prevent conflicts and keep water disputes out of politics. Shah called the Permanent Indus Commission the treaty’s “early warning system” and said Pakistan had continued to fulfill its obligations by sharing data.
He told the seminar that repeated communications with India in this regard had gone unanswered, adding that lack 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 increased strategic risks.
Former Law Minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi called for a dialogue between legal experts from both countries within the established legal frameworks. Former Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan accused India of “weaponizing water”, saying it threatened millions of people who depend on the Indus Basin.
He referred to measures that include the suspension of the exchange of hydrological data, the closure of the gates of the Baglihar and Salal dams, the acceleration of water projects and actions that affect river flows. He urged the international community to uphold the principle that shared rivers should never be used as instruments of coercion.
Similar concerns were echoed by several international experts who attended the seminar. Laurie Watkins, a US policy expert, said withholding hydrological data and not responding to correspondence from Pakistan violated principles of customary international law.
Dr Roxolana Zigon of the University of World Civilizations in Moscow described the Indus Waters Treaty as internationally recognized for its durability and praised Pakistan’s measured response despite rising tensions.
Professor Victor Gao of the Center for China and Globalization called 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 water availability 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 argued that transboundary rivers should serve as instruments of cooperation and not confrontation.
(WITH TICKETS FROM APP)
