A view of the Uri-II hydroelectric project dam on the Jhelum River, which flows from Indian Kashmir into Pakistan-administered Kashmir, near Uri in India-administered Kashmir’s Baramulla district, May 7, 2025.
- Climate minister says Indus dispute test of water rights for downstream countries worldwide
- Pakistan reiterates its position that India cannot unilaterally suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty
Pakistan on Tuesday called for a binding international covenant governing shared rivers, arguing that India’s decision to suspend a decades-old water-sharing treaty could set a precedent affecting billions of people living downstream around the world.
The appeal came as Islamabad hosted an international conference on the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty after India announced last year it was placing the World Bank-brokered agreement “in abeyance” following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied the allegation, rejected India’s move as unlawful and maintains that the treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally.
The Indus Waters Treaty divides the waters of the six-river Indus basin between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. It grants India unrestricted use of the three eastern rivers — the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — while allocating most of the waters of the three western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan, although India is permitted limited use on those rivers under the treaty.
Pakistan says any disruption to flows from the upstream western rivers would threaten agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of millions of people, and argues the dispute has implications far beyond South Asia because it could undermine the confidence of downstream countries worldwide that international water-sharing treaties will protect their rights.
“This is not Pakistan’s case,” Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik said in his address to the conference.
“This is the case and test for water rights for all downstream billions and billions and billions of people who live downstream.”
Drawing parallels with rivers such as the Nile, the Danube and others flowing across Europe, Malik said accepting India’s position would undermine confidence in international agreements protecting downstream states from unilateral upstream actions.
He urged the international community to move beyond voluntary declarations on transboundary water governance and establish an enforceable international framework.
“There must be a covenant which has political consequences, which has economic consequences, which has diplomatic consequences,” he said.
In his addresses, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said India had no legal authority to suspend the treaty on its own.
“The Indus Waters Treaty cannot be amended, revoked, suspended or held in abeyance because it cannot be done unilaterally,” Tarar said.
“This pact came into being after mutual consensus and only mutual consensus can lead to any amendment or revision.”
Tarar described the treaty as a lifeline for Pakistan’s more than 240 million people, saying the Indus River underpins the country’s agriculture, economy and livelihoods.
He said India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance lacked both legal and moral foundations because international agreements could not be disregarded at the convenience of one party.
“Pakistan has consistently demonstrated its commitment to peaceful engagement and constructive dialogue and the faithful implementation of the treaty,” he said.
“But if an attempt is made to stop the water of Pakistan, our national leadership stands resolved to respond effectively to restore the water for the people of Pakistan.”
The daylong water conference has brought to Islamabad Pakistani and international policymakers, legal experts and water specialists to discuss the treaty’s legal framework, regional security implications and the growing challenges climate change poses to transboundary water management.
Reference Link:- https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2649062/pakistan