slamabad has issued a serious warning to New Delhi over what it describes as India’s repeated attempts to disrupt the flow of water to Pakistan by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

India suspended the World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, about a month before the brief military conflict between the two countries in May 2025. New Delhi cited national security concerns and accused Pakistan of backing the attack, an allegation Islamabad has repeatedly.

The IWT is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan to use the water available in the Indus River system in the territories of the two countries. The treaty was signed in 1960 with the World Bank serving as its guarantor and facilitator.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in collaboration with the Institute of Regional Studies, recently organised an international seminar, titled Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability, to reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to defending the treaty and safeguarding its rights as the lower riparian state.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar warned India against undermining international river treaties, saying such actions “could come at a heavy cost.”

The treaty is widely regarded as the lifeline of more than 240 million people in Pakistan. Experts argue that its significance has become even greater as climate change accelerates glacier melt, intensifies water scarcity and increases competition over shared water resources. They maintain that international agreements cannot be suspended or disregarded for political convenience, particularly when they support the water security of nearly a quarter of the world’s population.

Earlier, while addressing a seminar in Brussels, Dar had told the international community that India was building or expanding at least 17 projects that could influence water flows into Pakistan. He described the move as an attempt to “drastically alter the river system” and create “tools for hydro-hegemony” that he said was unacceptable to Pakistan.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar described the treaty as essential to regional peace and stability, stressing that international agreements cannot be amended, revoked, suspended or held in abeyance unilaterally.

The Ministry of Information organised an international seminar, titled Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability, to reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to defending the treaty and safeguarding its rights as the lower riparian state.

Experts say that water insecurity is being driven not only by climate change but also by upstream control of river flows. They warn that ignoring treaty obligations weakens international law and risks destabilising the global rules-based order.

“Water is a global common. No state enjoying absolute ownership of water resources. The Indus Waters Treaty guarantees downstream flows with regulated exceptions for hydropower projects,” says Ahmer Bilal Soofi, an expert in international law.

Soofi says India’s decision to place the treaty “in abeyance” amounted to a violation of international law. Referring to United Nations counter-terrorism frameworks, Soofi says Pakistan had complied with its international obligations through legislation and institutional cooperation. He says India has bypassed established legal mechanisms and escalated tensions through its strategic actions. He describes the disruption of the treaty as part of a wider geopolitical and security escalation.

“Such breaches constitute serious wrongful acts under the rules governing state responsibility,” Soofi says, arguing that Pakistan is entitled to pursue lawful countermeasures while continuing to prioritise legal and diplomatic avenues. He notes that Pakistan has engaged the United Nations Security Council, the UN secretary-general and the permanent members of the Security Council through formal diplomatic channels.

Pakistan’s Commissioner for the Indus Waters Treaty Syed Mehr Ali Shah says he has repeatedly written to his Indian counterpart regarding what Pakistan considers violations of the treaty in an effort to keep the treaty and its institutional mechanisms operational. He notes that the last meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission was held in May 2022 and regular official correspondence has remained pending since August 2023.

He has called for an urgent meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission, the full restoration of data sharing and the resumption of inspections. Shah says Pakistan has continued treaty-related communication, data sharing and consultations. He warns that lack of hydrological data increases risks for irrigation planning, flood forecasting and water management.

The author is a staff reporter. He can be reached at [email protected]. He tweets at @waqargillani