Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has warned that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of its allocated water share under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could have serious consequences for regional peace and security.
Dar made the remarks while addressing an International Water Symposium organised by the Embassy of Pakistan in Austria in collaboration with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, according to the Foreign Office.
In his keynote address delivered through a video message, Dar said there should be “no misunderstanding” about Pakistan’s determination to protect its rights and interests under the IWT and international law.
“Any attempt to deprive Pakistan of the waters rightfully allocated to it would have serious implications for regional peace and security,” he said.
Water rights under the IWT have remained a major point of contention between Pakistan and India since New Delhi announced in April 2025 that it was placing the treaty in abeyance following an attack on tourists in Indian-occupied Kashmir. The move was followed by a brief military confrontation between the two countries in May 2025.
Dar said access to water was fundamental to human survival, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability, adding that water availability was increasingly influencing relations and stability among countries.
He noted that states sharing transboundary rivers were bound by permanent geographical interdependence, making cooperation and adherence to agreed legal frameworks essential.
“The fundamental question, therefore, is whether shared waters will be governed through cooperation and agreed legal frameworks, or become instruments of political pressure and confrontation,” he said.
For Pakistan, Dar said, water security was directly linked to food security, with the Indus River System supporting the lives and livelihoods of more than 250 million people.
He said the river system was critical to agriculture, food supplies, energy generation, economic growth and ecological sustainability.
“Any attempt to undermine Pakistan’s rights over these waters carries consequences that extend far beyond a bilateral disagreement,” the deputy prime minister said.
The IWT was signed by Pakistan and India in 1960 after nearly a decade of negotiations. Dar said the agreement replaced unilateral control over shared waters with binding legal obligations and provided both countries with certainty and predictability.
He said the treaty was based on the principle that water resources relied upon by millions of people should remain protected from fluctuations in bilateral political relations.
However, Dar said this principle had been challenged by India’s unilateral decision in April 2025 to place the treaty in abeyance, despite there being no provision in the agreement allowing either party to suspend it unilaterally.
He also referred to an August 31 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which he said reaffirmed the continued validity of the treaty and imposed restrictions related to India’s work on a hydropower project.
According to Dar, the PCA unanimously determined that the IWT remained in force and that India continued to be bound by its obligations, finding no grounds for its suspension or termination.
“This is an important reaffirmation of Pakistan’s position, as well as a fundamental principle of international law,” Dar said, invoking the legal principle pacta sunt servanda, which requires agreements to be honoured.
Dar said the ruling reinforced the position that rights and obligations established under the IWT could not be unilaterally altered.
He accused India of continuing what he described as “intransigent behaviour and illegal actions”, while stressing that Pakistan had consistently sought to resolve differences through dialogue, diplomacy and the dispute-resolution mechanisms provided under the treaty.
Pakistan, he said, was also participating in Neutral Expert proceedings under the IWT being administered through the PCA’s Vienna office.
Dar said Pakistan’s participation in both the Neutral Expert proceedings and PCA processes demonstrated its confidence in the treaty’s institutional mechanisms.
He stressed that the credibility of international law depended not only on the conclusion of treaties but also on their implementation and respect for decisions reached through agreed procedures.
The deputy prime minister described the humanitarian, economic and security consequences of using water as a tool of political pressure as “profound”.
He warned that actions undermining established water agreements could create a dangerous precedent for other transboundary river systems around the world.
“Amidst challenges to the international law-based world order, the international community should be strengthening treaty-based cooperation, not permitting its erosion,” he said.
Dar also stressed the importance of equitable and reasonable use of shared water resources, preventing significant transboundary harm and maintaining cooperation between states, while noting that such principles must be applied in accordance with the specific rights and obligations established under individual treaties.
He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue, diplomacy and peaceful dispute resolution, describing cooperation over shared water resources as essential for regional peace, development and sustainability.
Dar said the way forward should be based on three key principles: implementation of the IWT in letter and spirit; resolution of differences and disputes through the treaty’s established mechanisms and respect for resulting decisions; and greater technical engagement, transparency and data-sharing between Pakistan and India in accordance with the agreement.
“Our preference remains clear: cooperation over coercion, dialogue over confrontation, and the rule of law over unilateralism,” Dar said.
He added that future transboundary water governance should be based on cooperation, mutual respect and compliance with international obligations, stressing that Pakistan remained ready to pursue that approach.
Under the IWT, the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — were allocated to India, while the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — were largely allocated to Pakistan. The agreement also established mechanisms for information sharing and resolving disputes between the two countries.
India announced in April 2025 that it was suspending its obligations under the IWT following an attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian-occupied Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed. New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the incident, while Islamabad rejected the allegations and denied involvement.
Pakistan subsequently warned that any attempt to deprive it of its water share would constitute an “act of war”, arguing that the treaty contained no provision allowing unilateral suspension. Islamabad also maintained that India’s move violated the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration later backed Pakistan’s position, stating that the IWT remained fully in force and that India had no legal basis to terminate or suspend the agreement.
India, however, rejected the ruling and said it did not recognise the court’s authority, despite being an official member of the intergovernmental body.
