India has formally accused Pakistan at the United Nations of violating the spirit of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) by waging three wars and sponsoring thousands of terror attacks against India since the treaty’s inception in 1960.

According to statements made by Indian ambassador P Harish at the UN, India entered into the IWT in good faith, as outlined in the treaty’s preamble, which emphasises goodwill and friendship between the two nations.

However, India asserts that Pakistan has consistently undermined these principles through acts of aggression and cross-border terrorism, resulting in over 20,000 Indian fatalities in the past four decades, with the most recent incident being the targeted terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam in April 2025.

India has also criticised Pakistan for persistently blocking any attempts to modernise or renegotiate the treaty’s provisions, despite significant changes in ground realities, such as the need for clean energy, climate change impacts, demographic shifts, and advances in engineering. This obstruction, India claims, has prevented necessary updates to the treaty that would address contemporary challenges, including dam safety and water management infrastructure.

Furthermore, India highlighted Pakistan’s reluctance to engage in discussions about modifying the treaty, even as India repeatedly sought dialogue over the past two years.

India also pointed to terrorist attacks targeting water infrastructure, such as the strike on the Tulbul Navigation Project, as further evidence of Pakistan’s violation of the treaty’s spirit.

In response to these ongoing issues, India announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty in April 2025, declaring that the treaty would remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.

India maintains that its actions are justified and that it has always acted responsibly as an upper riparian state, while Pakistan’s continued hostility and obstructionism have rendered the treaty’s original framework outdated and unworkable under current circumstances.

Age