ISLAMABAD:
The Ministry of Water Resources has told the National Assembly that India’s continued silence on the Indus Waters Treaty is attracting increasing international attention.
In a written reply sent to the lower house, the ministry said India unilaterally suspended the 1960 treaty regarding river sharing in April 2025 after a militant attack in controlled Kashmir.
As per the ministry’s response, it said that due to non-availability of water in the Chenab River, approximately 1.45 million acres of agricultural land under the Upper Chenab Canal, originating from Marala Headworks, will be severely affected.
Similarly, around 3.19 million acres of agricultural land under Chenab Canal of Khanki Headworks will face severe impacts.
Currently, the annual availability of water per capita is 819 cubic meters. In 1951, per capita water availability exceeded 5,000 cubic meters.
By 2030, per capita water availability is projected to decline further to 744 cubic meters. This situation can lead to serious social and economic challenges.
The session of the National Assembly began on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Vice President Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah. The session began with a delay of half an hour.
Instead of responding to the concerns of Pakistan and UN experts on the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), India has chosen to remain silent.
The United Nations special representatives had asked India to respond to its actions regarding the IWT by December 16, 2026. However, even 34 days after the deadline was announced, no response has been received from New Delhi.
Five UN special rapporteurs and an independent expert examined India’s military response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack and the broader legal and humanitarian consequences of its actions in a report compiled on October 16, 2025 but made public on December 15, 2025.
Experts warned that any disruption to the treaty’s implementation could have serious consequences for the rights of millions of people in Pakistan who depend on the Indus River system for drinking water, agriculture, food security and livelihoods.
According to the IWT, the three eastern rivers (Beas River, Ravi River and Sutlej River) were allocated to India, while the three western rivers (Indus River, Chenab River and Jhelum River) were allocated to Pakistan.
In December 2025, Pakistan formally contacted India over its water aggression and sought an explanation for an unusual reduction in flows in the Chenab River.
“Pakistan seeks explanations from India for the unusual reduction in flows of the Chenab River,” Pakistan’s Office of the Commissioner for Indus Waters said in a statement on December 12.
According to the statement, hydrological records from the first half of December confirmed that an extraordinary reduction in flows was observed in the Chenab River, which persisted from December 10 to 16.
During this window, river flow decreased frequently and the lowest observed flow was 870 cusecs, which was significantly below the 10-year historical low range of approximately 4,018 to 4,406 cusecs for those dates.
“To assess the reason for the extraordinary reduction in flows of the Chenab Main at Marala, a significant reduction in the surface of Baglihar was observed in a satellite image of December 8, 2025, which was increased according to the images of December 13, 2025,” he said.
