ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar warned on Thursday of \u201cat least 17\u201d projects by India designed to drastically alter the Indus river system and lend it \u201ctools for hydro-hegemony\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deputy prime minister, in a recorded keynote address at a seminar titled \u201cTransboundary Water Resources: A Weaponised Global Common\u201d, said that responsible states act \u201cwithin established legal frameworks\u201d rather than abandoning them \u2014 referring to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between Pakistan and India that has been unilaterally suspended<\/a> by India since May of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe treaty envisages the peaceful resolution of disputes within its own framework,\u201d he said, highlighting that it survived \u201cthree major conflicts and several other challenges\u201d over the decades. He also noted that Pakistan had previously voiced concerns over \u201ccertain actions by India\u201d under the treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dar stated that Pakistan had consistently upheld the values enshrined in the United Nations charter, and remained committed to its principles as well as UN resolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cConsistent with the treaty\u2019s provisions, we sought settlement through international mechanisms and respected decisions that even fell short of our expectations,\u201d he said. \u201cAt no stage was the outright unilateral abrogation of the treaty considered a viable course of action by the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is important to underscore that our concerns are not merely based on Indian statements,\u201d the deputy prime minister stressed, stating that India had \u201cfollowed up its belligerent statements with illegal actions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These included projects to create reservoirs, expansion of existing structures and, \u201cmost alarmingly\u201d, diversion projects on the Indus, Chenab and Ravi rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn total, at least 17 such projects that will drastically alter the river system as a whole, giving India the tools for hydro-hegemony that it so desires,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRiver systems are not merely waterways \u2014 they are lifelines. They carry profound historical significance and serve as immediate sources of sustenance and survival,\u201d the deputy prime minister noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India\u2019s stated policy to intentionally deprive 240 million people of their rightful access to water represented a \u201ccatastrophe in the making of unparalleled magnitude\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dar stressed that water must never be viewed as an instrument of coercion, as it was \u201ca shared resource, a common responsibility and ultimately a prerequisite for human dignity and sustainable development\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He expressed the need for the future of trans-boundary water governance to be anchored in cooperation and respect for international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The deputy prime minister added that this issue should not be viewed as one confined to South Asia, pointing out that Europe offered compelling examples of how faithfully implementing trans-boundary water agreements enabled states to share water resources cooperatively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terming the sanctity of treaties \u201cthe bedrock of the international order\u201d, he declared respect for treaty obligations to be not just a regional concern but a \u201cglobal imperative\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPakistan remains committed to resolving all issues through dialogue, diplomacy and the mechanism provided under international law,\u201d he added. \u201cOur position is guided not by confrontation, but by the conviction that lasting solutions can only emerge through cooperation and respect for mutually agreed obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dar said that Pakistan was already disproportionately affected by climate change, pointing out that it remained among the most climate vulnerable countries in the world despite contributing less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He called for enhanced international cooperation and collaboration on water related issues, expressing the hope that the seminar\u2019s discussions would underscore the importance of cooperation in the management of trans-boundary water resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet us reaffirm today that shared waters should unite nations rather than divide them, and that cooperation \u2014 not coercion \u2014 must remain the guiding principle of trans-boundary water governance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, regulates the distribution of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan. It allocates the eastern rivers \u2014 Ravi, Beas and Sutlej \u2014 to India, while the western rivers \u2014 Indus, Jhelum and Chenab \u2014 are largely allocated to Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agreement has long been considered one of the most durable frameworks of cooperation between the two countries, surviving wars and repeated crises. However, it has come under strain since India announced in 2025 that it was placing its treaty obligations in abeyance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India announced a unilateral suspension of its obligations under the IWT in April last year following an attack<\/u><\/a> on tourists in occupied Kashmir\u2019s Pahalgam that killed 26 \u2014 an incident New Delhi blamed<\/u><\/a> on Islamabad without evidence. For its part, Pakistan strongly denied<\/u><\/a> the allegations and called for a neutral investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 2025, the Permanent Court of Arbitration \u2014 an organisation that provides a framework for international disputes \u2014 had issued<\/u><\/a> a Supplemental Award of Competence, stating that India could not unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India has maintained<\/a> that it will keep the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan ends alleged support for cross-border terrorism \u2014 an accusation that Islamabad denies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>A treaty under strain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n