ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government Tuesday warned that any attempt by India to deprive Pakistan of its share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty would amount to the “weaponization of water” and could have serious consequences for regional peace and security.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other government officials made the remarks at an international seminar on the 1960 World Bank -brokered treaty, which governs the sharing of water from the Indus River system between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
The treaty has come under renewed strain after India suspended its participation in the agreement following the killing of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April. New Delhi blamed Pakistan-based militants for the attack, a charge Islamabad denied while offering to participate in an independent investigation.
The attack triggered one of the sharpest deteriorations in relations between the rivals in decades. Both countries downgraded diplomatic and trade ties, closed their main land border crossing and revoked visas for each other’s nationals. The tensions later escalated into tit-for-tat missile strikes in May 2025 before a ceasefire was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. Relations have remained frozen since.
Speaking at the seminar, Dar said water should never be used as a political tool.
“Shared waters must never be weaponized. They should remain a bridge between nations, guided by cooperation, dialogue, and respect for international law for the benefit of present and future generations,” he said.
He described water as essential to human dignity, food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability, arguing that rivers crossing international borders should foster cooperation rather than confrontation.
Dar called India’s 2025 decision to suspend the treaty “illegal” and said Pakistan considered the agreement to remain valid and legally binding. “No party can unilaterally suspend or terminate obligations under a treaty that contains no such provision,” he said, adding that international agreements must be implemented in good faith.
He also reiterated Pakistan’s position that any attempt to divert, interrupt or reduce water allocated to Pakistan under the treaty would be treated as an “act of war,” referring to a decision adopted by Pakistan’s National Security Committee after India announced the suspension.
Pakistan in recent months has repeatedly accused India of violating the treaty since New Delhi announced its suspension. During Tuesday’s seminar, Mehar Ali Shah, chairman of Pakistan’s Indus River System Authority, alleged that India reduced water flows in the Chenab River in recent months in violation of the treaty.
There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.
Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the treaty could not be amended, revoked, suspended, or placed in abeyance unilaterally. He argued that protecting the agreement had become increasingly important as climate change, shrinking glaciers and growing water scarcity threatened the region’s long-term stability.
Brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, the Indus Waters Treaty regulates the distribution of water from the Indus River system. Under it, India controls the eastern rivers, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, while Pakistan receives the waters of the western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
Until May 2025, the treaty survived multiple wars between the two countries, including conflicts in 1965 and 1971, as well as the 1999 Kargil conflict, and has long been regarded as one of the few enduring agreements between the neighbors despite decades of hostility over Kashmir.
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