ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar warned India on Tuesday that by holding a decades-old water-sharing treaty in abeyance it is sowing the “seeds of war,” reiterating that Islamabad considers protecting its water resources a matter of national interest.
Dar was speaking at an international conference in Islamabad on the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) featuring global water and legal experts. Islamabad aims to highlight Pakistan’s rights under the treaty in the conference and raise questions over the legality of India’s move.
India announced in April 2025 that 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 and maintains that the treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally. Pakistan has accused India of pursuing reservoir, expansion and diversion projects on rivers covered by the IWT in violation of the agreement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we sincerely advise India against sowing the seeds of war and jeopardizing the peace and security of our region,” Dar said during his speech.
The Pakistani deputy premier said the IWT remains binding, valid and operative. He said both countries must seek to promote peace in South Asia by addressing their outstanding issues.
“Pakistan has consistently sought to resolve differences through dialogue, diplomacy and the treaty-based mechanisms agreed by both parties,” Dar said.
The IWT 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 uses 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 has argued 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.
Speaking at the conference earlier, Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik said accepting India’s position would undermine confidence in international agreements that protect 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.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the treaty is a lifeline for Pakistan’s more than 240 million people, saying the Indus River underpins the country’s agriculture, economy and livelihoods.
“Pakistan has consistently demonstrated its commitment to peaceful engagement and constructive dialogue and the faithful implementation of the treaty,” Tarar 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.”
