ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to call on India to restore the full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that New Delhi suspended a year ago following tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) governs the distribution of waters from the Indus river system, allocating the western rivers, Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, primarily to Pakistan, which depends on them for most of its agriculture. The agreement has long been seen as one of the most durable arrangements between the two countries, surviving wars and decades of hostility.
However, India announced on Apr. 23, 2025 it was holding the treaty in abeyance. The decision came as New Delhi blamed Islamabad for supporting a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Pakistan denied it supported the attack, which led to a brief but intense military conflict between the two sides in May 2025.
Ahmad met UN Security Council President Jamal Fares Alrowaiei on Thursday and handed him a letter from Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar regarding the IWT.
"The Security Council has been urged to take cognizance of the alarming situation and call upon India to restore the full implementation of IWT, resume all Treaty-mandated cooperation and data-sharing without delay, desist from any form of water coercion, and comply fully with its international obligations in good faith," Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the UN said in a statement.
Ahmad spoke about the unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan with the Security Council president, reiterating that it remains the root cause of instability in South Asia.
He said the longstanding dispute necessitated a "just and lasting settlement" in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
While India has not fully halted water flows since unilaterally suspending the treaty, the move suspended key cooperation mechanisms, including data sharing and dispute resolution processes.
Pakistan has consistently rejected the move as unlawful, maintaining that the treaty contains no provision allowing unilateral suspension.
