Summary Islamabad vows to protect water rights through law and diplomacy
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has warned that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of waters allocated under the Indus Waters Treaty would have profound consequences for regional peace and security.
Speaking virtually at a seminar on the treaty at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, Dar said the 1960 agreement remained a valid and binding legal framework between Pakistan and India. He stressed that shared water resources must not become a tool of political confrontation, particularly when millions of lives and livelihoods depend on them.
Dar said the Indus Waters Treaty was not merely a bilateral agreement but an important international legal framework that had governed water-related matters between the two countries for more than six decades. The World Bank serves as a party to the treaty's dispute-resolution framework, while the agreement itself provides mechanisms for addressing differences between Pakistan and India.
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 delivered a keynote address via a recorded video message at the seminar on “The Indus Waters Treaty: South Asian Security at the Crossroads,” organized by the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington… pic.twitter.com/kKP8a4NzY9
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) August 28, 2026
The foreign minister's remarks come amid heightened tensions over the treaty after India announced in April 2025 that it was placing its obligations under the agreement in abeyance. New Delhi took the step following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists. India blamed Pakistan for the attack, while Islamabad strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral investigation.
Legal framework
Dar rejected the notion that either country could unilaterally suspend or set aside its treaty obligations through a political declaration. He said the Indus Waters Treaty contained no provision allowing either side to unilaterally place the agreement in abeyance, arguing that obligations undertaken under international law could not simply be extinguished in this manner.
He said the treaty had remained in place through wars, military crises, diplomatic breakdowns and prolonged periods of political tension, demonstrating that water governance could be insulated from wider bilateral disputes.
According to Dar, the issue therefore extends beyond Pakistan-India relations to the broader principle of respect for international agreements and confidence in international law. He warned that allowing solemn treaty commitments to be discarded whenever political relations deteriorate could undermine the purpose of international treaties more broadly.
He also pointed to geography as a fundamental reason for cooperation, noting that states cannot change the direction in which rivers flow. The treaty's rules, he said, were designed precisely to manage a shared resource through an agreed legal framework.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, the three eastern rivers, the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, are allocated to India, while the three western rivers, the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, are allocated primarily to Pakistan, subject to specified uses by India.
Water security
Dar said water was fundamental to human life, food security and economic stability, making predictable and lawful management of shared rivers particularly important for South Asia.
He described the Indus Basin as the lifeline of more than 250 million Pakistanis, with the country's agriculture, food security, energy production, livelihoods and economic development heavily dependent on the river system.
Pakistan has also pursued arbitration over disputes involving Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers, including the Kishenganga and Ratle projects. Proceedings before the Court of Arbitration at The Hague have continued, with earlier rulings addressing its jurisdiction and questions concerning the interpretation and application of the treaty.
Dar said Pakistan's use of mechanisms such as the Permanent Indus Commission, a neutral expert or the Court of Arbitration should not be viewed as confrontation. Instead, he described them as processes specifically established under the treaty to address differences between the two countries.
He said Pakistan had consistently sought to resolve disputes through dialogue, diplomacy and the mechanisms provided by the agreement, while maintaining that its legitimate water rights would be protected under the treaty and international law.
Climate pressure
Dar also linked the dispute to growing water-related pressures caused by climate change. Pakistan, he said, is already among the world's most water-stressed countries and faces changing precipitation patterns, glacial retreat, floods, droughts and increasing hydrological variability.
He called for stronger cooperation through improved data-sharing, sustained technical engagement and greater transparency, while stressing that climate adaptation could not mean abandoning legally agreed rights and obligations.
According to Dar, the treaty's dispute-settlement architecture was designed to withstand disagreements between the two countries, with dialogue, technical engagement and lawful dispute resolution forming the basis for addressing contentious issues.
He proposed that the treaty be respected and implemented in letter and spirit, that questions and disputes be handled through its established mechanisms, and that Pakistan and India restore and strengthen technical engagement, transparency and data-sharing.
Dar said Pakistan would continue to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests under the treaty and international law. He also referred to Islamabad's recent diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue during the US-Iran crisis, saying Pakistan's broader approach was centred on engagement, diplomacy and peaceful settlement.
The foreign minister said the Indus should remain a source of life and livelihood rather than becoming a fault line for confrontation, reiterating that shared waters should be governed by law and sustained through cooperation.
