Web desk(National Times)- Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah said on Tuesday that he had written to his Indian counterpart regarding fluctuations in the flow of the Chenab River four times since last April \u2014 when New Delhi unilaterally decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance \u2014 but there had been no response thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at a seminar held in Islamabad to highlight the legal and constitutional framework of the IWT, he said he last wrote to his Indian counterpart last night over \u201csignificant fluctuations\u201d in the flow of the River Chenab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IWT 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. The 1960 water-sharing agreement has also established mechanisms for data-sharing and dispute resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indus Waters commissioner said the fluctuation in the Chenab was not a \u201ctechnical inconvenience, but rather a strategic hazard\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no brainer in understanding that data-sharing is the line between natural risk and manufactured vulnerability,\u201d he said, adding that India should answer for the fluctuations in the Chenab flows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will state this carefully and without overclaiming causation. These events required explanation and operational data, and we have been asking India through treaty channels, but there is no response from the Indian side, and no response creates a risk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that no \u201cresponsible\u201d downstream commissioner would look at the fluctuation as \u201croutine and move on\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are precisely the events the Indus Water Commission exists to examine,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further said that Pakistan, in the past year, had tried to keep the channel of communication and data-sharing under the IWT active despite India holding the treaty in abeyance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPakistan continued to provide the required data, sent correspondents, requested meetings, inspections, project information and [held] Article 9 consultations,\u201d he said; however, he added that Pakistan received no response from the Indian side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that the Indian side followed a similar pattern before the 2025 abeyance, recalling that the last commission meeting was held in May 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo general or special tour of inspection, corresponding monthly data has remained outstanding after August 2023 and multiple core treaty communications have received no response,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is precisely what increases the risk of avoidable escalation,\u201d he warned, adding that \u201chydrological information is not a diplomatic courtesy\u201d but rather an \u201coperational necessity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWithout data, the downstream state is forced to guess whether it faces nature or the upstream operation,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multiple instances of variations<\/a> in the flow of the Chenab River have been reported since India announced last year that it was placing its IWT obligations in abeyance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The announcement followed an attack<\/u><\/a> on tourists in occupied Kashmir\u2019s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists \u2014 an incident New Delhi blamed<\/u><\/a> on Islamabad without evidence. Pakistan has strongly denied<\/u><\/a> the allegations and called for a neutral investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The treaty and its status remain a point of contention between the two sides since then, with an Indian minister recently saying<\/a> that they were working to stop the flow of water into Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan has also asked India to refrain from any unilateral manipulation of the river flow and fulfil its obligations under the IWT \u2014 which also sets out guidelines for the construction of projects on Indus waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shah said on Tuesday that the way forward for the IWT was not \u201cabeyance, but performance\u201d, calling for an immediate commission meeting, full restoration of data sharing, and resumption of general and special tours and inspections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo unilateral abeyance, no data blackout, no diversion, no fait accompli,<\/em>\u201d he said, emphasising that \u201cIWT is a life and the commission must therefore be allowed to work\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan has opposed the construction of various such projects by India, terming them a violation of the IWT. Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar assailed<\/a> 17 projects, including hydropower facilities, by India on Indus waterways as \u201ctools for hydro-hegemony\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his address at the Islamabad seminar, Shah said the core issue for Pakistan was not \u201chydropower\u201d but \u201caccumulated upstream control without the treaty discipline\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan did not object to \u201clawful hydropower\u201d, but the \u201cunlawful control, excessive discretion and opaque operations are a problem\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStarting from the Marala Barrage, India has started reopening its low-level outlets, and what would happen in simple terms is that by way of so doing, India will have control by way of emptying the reservoirs and refilling and repeating these manipulations just to the detriment of Pakistan,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shah also took note of India\u2019s plans to develop the Chenab-Beas link project, which he said would divert 1.9 million acre-feet of water from the Chenab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He raised concern that \u201cone project may be a question in terms of Article 9 [of the treaty] but a cluster of accelerated works with no data, no inspection and no commission engagement, that becomes a strategic pattern, no longer a question\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the Chenab-Beas project, Shah held that Pakistan\u2019s legal position on the matter remained clear and stemmed from Article 3 of the treaty, which dealt with the governance of the three western rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shah said Article 3 contained \u201cno free-standing category of the surplus western river waters available for diversion by India into an eastern river basin\u201d, warning that diversion changed the character of the bargain at the core of the treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the issue of India\u2019s Salal Dam on the Chenab, Shah recalled that Pakistan had signed a bilateral agreement with India in 1978 which required that the \u201coutlet works be permanently plugged\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If unplugging them was claimed to be necessary for a safety emergency, the agreement required immediate information, consultation, and site inspection, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talking about Article 9 of the treaty, Shah said it provided an \u201celaborate dispute resolution mechanism\u201d that began at the bilateral level and, if that failed, the process \u201cwithout any paralysis\u201d moved on to a third-party forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe sequence is deliberate: institutional settlement first and third-party determination where necessary but no paralysis,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the arbitration mechanism outlined in the treaty, Shah said that the Court of Arbitration had \u201creactivated the treaty\u201d and addressed any legal uncertainty around the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He recalled that India began work on projects planned for western rivers of the Indus system in 2000, and there had always been discord between the two parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2016, Pakistan decided that now it\u2019s time to have the general interpretation of the IWT, particularly the provisions which govern the development by India on the western rivers,\u201d he said, recalling that Pakistan received two awards from the Court of Arbitration \u2014 one in 2025<\/a> and another in May, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shah said the court confirmed \u201cfour essential\u201d points in its rulings: \u201cFirst, India\u2019s non-appearance before the court does not paralyse the proceedings. Second, the abeyance posture does not deprive the court of competence. Third, the award is final, binding and controlling. And India must let the western rivers flow with treaty exceptions applied strictly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He asserted that it was not merely \u201cpolitical rhetoric\u201d or Pakistan\u2019s stance but the \u201ctreaty speaking through its own court\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier in his speech, Shah said that for Pakistan, the IWT was not just a matter of hydrology but national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen the lives and livelihoods of more than 240 million are tied to the Indus basin, when more than 80 per cent of the arable land depends on these waters [\u2026], when agriculture contributes almost a quarter of GDP and almost one-third of employment, water uncertainty becomes national uncertainty,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commissioner remarked, \u201cFlow prediction is not a luxury of planning but part of the survival architecture of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the IWT was a \u201cconflict prevention system\u201d and that \u201cPakistan\u2019s restraint has been deliberate\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut water, food, livelihood, and social stability are not negotiable abstractions; that is why Pakistan has publicly defined the strategic threshold for any attempt to stop and divert the treaty water belonging to Pakistan,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commissioner for Indus Waters said the IWT had converted a \u201cterritorial water system\u201d into a legal structure by fixing rights and obligations each party owed to the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe eastern rivers were allocated to India, and the western were placed under Pakistan, with India\u2019s use confined to carefully defined exceptions,\u201d he recalled. \u201cPakistan accepted that bargain, rebuilt its irrigation life around that bargain and planned its national water economy around the assurance that the western rivers would be let flow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe bargain remains a bargain,\u201d he said, stressing that the agreement was \u201cnot a favour, but a binding settlement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commissioner reiterated that the treaty functioned as a \u201cconflict prevention design\u201d and was engineered for \u201cpeace\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the treaty worked because of four elements operating together \u2014 allocation, cooperation, the institution and dispute control, the Indus Water Commission in this case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shah further explained, \u201cAllocation tells each side what it may use, what it may not; cooperation provides data, notice and inspection, and commission gives a regular channel of communication,\u201d he said, warning that removing any of these elements would lead to the peace function failing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTherefore, abeyance is not a diplomatic slogan but an attempt to disable the stabilising architecture of the treaty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mentioning Article 8 of the IWT, which pertains to the Indus Water Commission, he said the operating mechanism kept \u201cwater out of conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Indus Waters commissioner also spoke of Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic efforts within the context of the IWT, stating, \u201cWe are taking the matter to the world not to internationalise a quarrel but to prevent a treaty breakdown from becoming a security crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shah further said that Pakistan was on a \u201cnational journey to protect every drop, measure every flow and produce more value from the water we lawfully receive, with the guiding principle being that the stronger Pakistan becomes at home, the clearer its message becomes abroad: we protect every drop we receive, and we will not accept coercion for any drop we are entitled to receive\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The seminar began with an opening speech by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who said the 240 million people of Pakistan had an \u201cinalienable right\u201d to water from the Indus River System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we say that Indus is our lifeline and our people, the 240m people of Pakistan, have an inalienable right to the water of Indus, we mean it, from the core of our hearts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also described the IWT as \u201can instrument of peace and regional stability\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday, we are not merely discussing the treaty. We are discussing the lifeline of nearly 240 million people of Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added, \u201cWhen we identify ourselves as Pakistanis, we ask a question as to who we are. And if you go back into history, the Indus water [sic<\/em>] civilisation defines us as a people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhenever I go abroad, I always tell my counterparts that we are the people of the Indus Valley civilisation. Our identification is that we are people based on the banks and tributaries of the mighty Indus River.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The minister said water was life, and the \u201cIndus has given life to Pakistan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Pakistan, he went on to say, water was simply not a resource but a matter of life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tarar said the Indus River system had nurtured one of the world\u2019s oldest civilisations for thousands of years. \u201cFrom the towering peaks of Gilgit-Baltistan to the fertile plains of Punjab and Sindh, these waters have connected our people across geography and history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that the story of Pakistan was, in many ways, the story of the Indus. It was for this reason that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 occupied such a \u201cunique place in international relations\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He recalled that the treaty was signed under the auspices of the World Bank and had endured wars, political upheavals and prolonged periods of tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIts resilience, for more than six decades, demonstrates an enduring truth that cooperation, dialogue and adherence to international commitments remain the only sustainable path to peace,\u201d Tarar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The minister said the IWT stood as a \u201cremarkable example\u201d of the rule-based international order. \u201cIt embodies the principle of good faith \u2014 pacta sunt servanda \u2014 the sanctity of agreements and peaceful dispute resolutions. These are not merely legal concepts, but foundations upon which trust is built.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, turning his attention to tensions between India and Pakistan over the IWT, he asserted that Pakistan\u2019s civilian and military leadership had made it clear that the people of Pakistan had a right to the water of the Indus and the treaty could not be amended, revoked, suspended or held in abeyance unilaterally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contestation of the Indian decision to unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance, Tarar pointed out that the treaty came into being after mutual consensus between Pakistan and India and could only be amended or revised with the mutual consensus of the two sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndia\u2019s failed attempt at unilaterally holding this treaty in abeyance has led to international embarrassment for India at various forums, including legal forums,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, he contended that the \u201cmoral, social and legal foundations\u201d of any one-sided attempt to hold the IWT in abeyance. \u201cAnd any structure which has weak foundations will fall flat on its face,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The minister stressed the need to protect the IWT, especially at a time when climate change was accelerating, glaciers were melting at an unprecedented rate and water scarcity was becoming the defining challenge of the present times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tarar said South Asia was home to nearly a quarter of humanity, adding that \u201cour collective future depends upon transforming water from a source of contention into a catalyst for cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHistory teaches us that rivers do not divide civilisations; they connect them. Rivers transcend borders, politics and generations. They remind us that nature recognises no boundaries, and that humanity\u2019s shared challenges demand shared solutions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any attempt to block or stop water, he said, would always fail because water would always find a way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe weaponisation of water or attempts to unilaterally alter established arrangements undermine not only regional peace and stability but also the broader framework of international law. International agreements, as I said, cannot be suspended or disregarded at convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRespect for treaties is indispensable for maintaining confidence among nations and preserving the global order,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said Pakistan had consistently demonstrated its commitment to peaceful engagement and constructive dialogue and the faithful implementation of the treaty. But, he warned, if an attempt was made to stop the water of Pakistan, the country\u2019s leadership stood resolved to respond effectively to restore the water for the people of Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concluding his address, he said: \u201cLet us reaffirm today that we will, by all means, not only protect the sanctity of this treaty, but we will do all that we can to protect the inalienable right of the 240m people of Pakistan to the water of the Indus River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe waters of the Indus have flowed for millennia. They have witnessed transformations. Yet, they continue to sustain life with unwavering generosity. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that these waters remain a symbol of peace and shared prosperity for generations to come. [\u2026] We collectively resolve today that we will do all that we can at all international forums, legally and otherwise, to ensure that the right to water of the Pakistani people is not only protected, but the world gets to see the illegal attempts being made by India to alter or change this treaty, which it cannot do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan, he said, stood firm in its determination to protect the lives and livelihoods of its people, which are linked to the Indus River.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Web desk(National Times)- Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah said on Tuesday that he had written to his Indian counterpart regarding fluctuations in the flow of the Chenab River four times since last April \u2014 when New Delhi unilaterally decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance \u2014 but there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Pakistan not opposed to \u2018lawful hydropower\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Court of Arbitration rulings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\u2018IWT a matter of national security\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\u2018Not a favour, but a binding settlement\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\u2018Inalienable right\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n