The seminar titled “Transboundary Water Resources: A Weaponised Global Common,” held in Brussels on June 18, 2026, came at a critical moment for South Asia and the wider international community. Organized by the Embassy of Pakistan to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO in collaboration with the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), the event highlighted a growing global concern: the weaponisation of shared water resources.
Water is not merely a natural resource. It is the foundation of life, agriculture, economic development, food security, environmental sustainability and social stability. When water becomes a tool of political pressure or strategic coercion, the consequences extend far beyond bilateral disputes. They threaten regional peace, human security and the very principles of international law.
For Pakistan, this issue is not theoretical. It is an existential concern affecting more than 250 million people whose livelihoods, food production and economic well-being depend heavily on the Indus River System.
2026年6月18日在布鲁塞尔举行的题为“跨境水资源：一种武装化的全球共同资源”的研讨会，正值南亚及更广泛国际社会面临关键时刻之际。该活动由巴基斯坦驻比利时、卢森堡、欧盟和北约大使馆联合欧洲政策研究中心（CEPS）举办，凸显了全球日益增长的担忧：共享水资源被用于军事化。
水不仅仅是一种自然资源，更是生命、农业、经济发展、粮食安全、环境可持续性和社会稳定的基石。当水被用作政治施压或战略胁迫的工具时，其后果远远超出双边争端的范畴，威胁着地区和平、人类安全以及国际法的基本原则。
对巴基斯坦而言，这一问题并非理论上的，而是关乎生存的现实关切，影响着超过2.5亿人，他们的生计、粮食生产和经济福祉高度依赖于印度河系统。
Understanding the Indus Waters Treaty
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), signed in 1960 between Pakistan and India with the facilitation of the World Bank, is widely regarded as one of the most successful water-sharing agreements in modern history.
The treaty allocated the three eastern rivers—Ravi, Beas and Sutlej—to India, while granting Pakistan rights over the three western rivers—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. The arrangement was not merely a political compromise; it was a carefully negotiated legal framework designed to ensure predictable and equitable water access for both countries.
For more than six decades, the treaty survived wars, military confrontations and political crises. Even during periods of extreme hostility, the agreement remained operational. This resilience demonstrated that water cooperation could prevail despite broader political disagreements.
The treaty established clear obligations. India was permitted limited non-consumptive use of the western rivers, including certain hydropower projects, but was prohibited from interfering with the natural flow of waters in a manner that would materially affect Pakistan’s rights. The treaty also created mechanisms for information sharing, inspections, technical consultations and dispute resolution.
These provisions were designed to ensure that neither side could manipulate water resources to gain a political or strategic advantage.
理解印度河水条约
《印度河水条约》（IWT）于1960年由巴基斯坦和印度在世界银行的协助下签署，被广泛认为是现代历史上最成功的水资源分配协议之一。
该条约将三条东部河流——拉维河、比斯河和苏特莱杰河——划归印度，同时赋予巴基斯坦对三条西部河流——印度河、杰赫勒姆河和切纳布河的主权。这一安排不仅是一次政治妥协，更是一项经过精心谈判的法律框架，旨在确保两国获得可预测且公平的水资源。
六十余年来，该条约经受住了战争、军事对峙和政治危机的考验。即使在极端敌对时期，协议依然保持有效运行。这种韧性表明，尽管存在更广泛的政治分歧，水资源合作仍能取得成功。
该条约确立了明确的义务。印度被允许对西江进行有限的非消耗性使用，包括某些水电项目，但不得以影响巴基斯坦权利的方式干扰水流的自然状态。条约还设立了信息共享、检查、技术磋商和争端解决等机制。
这些规定旨在确保双方都无法操纵水资源以获取政治或战略优势。
Why Water Matters to Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the most water-dependent countries in the world.
The Indus Basin supports nearly 90 percent of Pakistan’s agricultural production. Agriculture contributes approximately 23 percent of Pakistan’s GDP and employs nearly 37 percent of the labour force. The country’s vast irrigation network, one of the largest on earth, relies almost entirely on waters originating from the Indus River System.
Major crops such as wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane depend on timely and predictable water flows. Millions of farmers, agricultural workers and rural families depend directly on these rivers for survival.
Furthermore, Pakistan’s hydropower generation, industrial production and urban water supplies are all linked to the Indus Basin.
Any disruption to these water flows has immediate implications for food security, energy security and economic stability.
Pakistan’s Climate Vulnerability
The water issue becomes even more serious when viewed alongside Pakistan’s climate challenges.
Although Pakistan contributes less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it consistently ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.
The devastating floods of 2022 affected more than 33 million people and caused economic losses exceeding $30 billion. Simultaneously, many regions of the country face prolonged drought conditions, shrinking glaciers, declining groundwater levels and increasing water scarcity.
Climate change is already placing enormous stress on Pakistan’s water resources. Under such circumstances, any deliberate restriction, diversion or manipulation of river flows can magnify existing vulnerabilities and create severe humanitarian consequences.
Growing Concerns over Indian Actions
Pakistan has repeatedly expressed concern regarding a series of Indian projects involving reservoirs, storage facilities, river diversions and hydroelectric developments on the western rivers.
According to Pakistani officials, these projects go beyond technical infrastructure development and collectively create the capacity to influence downstream water flows.
The concern is not merely about current water availability. It is about future control.
Water experts frequently note that strategic storage capacity allows upstream states to influence the timing and volume of water releases. During critical agricultural seasons, even temporary disruptions can significantly affect crop yields and irrigation schedules.
Pakistan fears that the cumulative impact of multiple projects could create conditions that enable what Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described as “hydro-hegemony.”
Such concerns have become more pronounced following India’s announcement that it was placing the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance after political tensions escalated. From Pakistan’s perspective, unilateral suspension of a binding international treaty sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the rule-based international order.
International agreements cannot function if one party decides to suspend obligations whenever political disagreements arise.
Water as a Weapon: A Dangerous Precedent
The deliberate use of water as a political or strategic weapon is widely regarded as unacceptable under international norms.
Water is fundamentally different from other instruments of statecraft. Restricting water access affects civilians, farmers, children, public health systems and entire ecosystems. It is not governments alone that suffer; entire populations bear the consequences.
If water becomes a tool of coercion, it risks transforming a resource meant to sustain life into an instrument of instability.
The international community has repeatedly emphasized that access to water is closely linked to fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, health, food and development.
The weaponisation of water, therefore, raises not only political concerns but also humanitarian and ethical questions.
The Role of the World Bank
The World Bank played a historic role in facilitating the Indus Waters Treaty and remains an important stakeholder in its institutional framework.
While the World Bank is not an enforcement agency in the traditional sense, it possesses significant responsibilities under the treaty’s dispute-resolution mechanisms.
The Bank can facilitate the appointment of neutral experts and members of arbitration panels when disputes arise. It can also provide procedural support to ensure treaty mechanisms continue functioning.
More importantly, the World Bank carries considerable moral and diplomatic influence. As the institution that helped create one of the world’s most celebrated water-sharing agreements, it has a responsibility to support its continued implementation.
The erosion of the Indus Waters Treaty would represent not merely a bilateral failure but a setback for international water governance worldwide.
Potential Consequences
The consequences of undermining the treaty could be severe.
First, agricultural production in Pakistan could face substantial disruption, affecting food availability and rural livelihoods.
Second, reduced water predictability could discourage investment in agriculture and related industries.
Third, water insecurity could intensify social pressures, migration and economic instability.
Fourth, environmental degradation could accelerate through increased stress on wetlands, river ecosystems and groundwater reserves.
Finally, any escalation of water disputes between two nuclear-armed neighbours would have implications far beyond South Asia. Regional instability would affect trade, investment, energy security and broader international peace.
The Way Forward
The solution lies not in confrontation but in cooperation.
Pakistan has consistently stated its commitment to dialogue, diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes through established legal mechanisms. This approach remains the most practical and responsible path forward.
India and Pakistan should recommit themselves to the full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty. Existing dispute-resolution mechanisms should be utilised rather than bypassed. Technical differences should be addressed through neutral experts, arbitration processes and institutional dialogue.
The international community should encourage respect for treaty obligations and support confidence-building measures between the two countries.
Climate change makes cooperation more necessary than ever. Shared challenges require shared solutions. Rather than competing over water resources, regional states must work together on conservation, flood management, data sharing, climate adaptation and sustainable development.
Conclusion
The Brussels seminar served as a timely reminder that transboundary water governance is no longer merely a technical issue. It has become a central question of international security, sustainable development and human survival.
The Indus Waters Treaty remains one of the most important examples of successful water diplomacy in modern history. Preserving it is not only in the interest of Pakistan and India but also in the interest of global stability and international law.
Water should unite nations, not divide them. It should sustain life, not become a weapon. The future of South Asia depends on cooperation, respect for treaties and a shared commitment to ensuring that rivers remain sources of prosperity rather than instruments of conflict.
Reference Link:- https://www2.apdnews.cn/en/item/26/0622/axjfnfzk1d624d74189b1a.html