Pakistan has escalated its rhetoric over the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, portraying the issue as a matter of survival and global credibility, NDTV reported.

Hosting an international conference in Islamabad, leaders warned that the collapse of the treaty would undermine the very foundation of international agreements worldwide.

The suspension by India followed the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, which killed 26 civilians, and has since triggered one of the sharpest downturns in bilateral relations in decades.

The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, has long been regarded as one of the most enduring water-sharing agreements between two nuclear-armed neighbours. It allocates the eastern rivers—Ravi, Sutlej and Beas—to India, while Pakistan receives the waters of the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

Despite surviving wars in 1965, 1971 and the 1999 Kargil conflict, the treaty now faces unprecedented strain after New Delhi placed it in abeyance, citing Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism.

Pakistan’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar declared India’s suspension “illegal”, insisting that no party can unilaterally terminate obligations under a treaty that contains no such provision. He described the agreement as a vital instrument of peace, stability and cooperation, stressing that shared waters must never be weaponised.

Dar argued that rivers crossing international borders should foster cooperation rather than confrontation, and warned that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of its allocated waters would be treated as an act of war, with profound consequences for regional peace and security.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, echoed this sentiment, declaring that the Indus River was not for negotiation. He proposed a new international convention against the weaponisation of waterways, and delivered a fiery speech emphasising that Pakistan would defend its water, its people, its treaty, its sovereignty and its future.

He insisted that peace must come with dignity, dialogue must be under law, and coexistence must not mean submission. He rejected the notion that the Indus could be used as a bargaining chip, calling it a lifeline of Pakistan.

Musadik Malik, Pakistan’s Minister for Petroleum, delivered one of the strongest warnings, claiming that the credibility of the global order itself hinged on the survival of the Indus Waters Treaty. He argued that if the treaty collapsed, no international agreement signed after World War II would remain secure. He described the pact as the strongest the world had ever seen, noting that it had endured three wars between India and Pakistan.

Mehar Ali Shah, chairman of Pakistan’s Indus River System Authority, accused India of reducing water flows in the Chenab River in recent months, in violation of the treaty. He alleged that such actions were part of a broader pattern of undermining Pakistan’s water rights. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of violating the treaty since its suspension, while attempting to rally international support through conferences and diplomatic appeals.

India has remained firm in its position. At a United Nations event marking World Water Day in 2026, India’s Permanent Representative Harish Parvathaneni stated that New Delhi was compelled to suspend the treaty after repeated provocations and Pakistan’s failure to end support for terrorism.

He emphasised that the treaty would remain in abeyance until Islamabad took credible and irreversible steps to dismantle terror networks operating from its soil.

The suspension of the treaty has exacerbated Pakistan’s vulnerabilities, particularly amid a severe heatwave and the El Niño weather pattern, which threaten to intensify water shortages. Pakistan’s agrarian economy and power generation depend heavily on the Indus River system, and the loss of hydrological data from India has left Islamabad blindsided. The crisis has been described by Pakistani leaders as an existential threat, with water scarcity looming over provinces such as Sindh and Balochistan.

Relations between the two countries have remained frozen since the April 2025 attack. Diplomatic and trade ties were downgraded, visas revoked, and the main land border crossing closed. The tensions escalated further in May 2025 when India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting border strikes in response to continued militant activity. The suspension of the treaty has become a central symbol of India’s hardened stance, encapsulated in its declaration that “blood and water cannot flow together”.

Pakistan’s leadership continues to frame the issue as a matter of international law and global stability, warning that the collapse of the treaty would set a dangerous precedent.

Yet New Delhi remains unmoved, insisting that security concerns must take precedence until Pakistan demonstrates irreversible action against terrorism. The standoff has left the future of one of the world’s most successful transboundary water agreements in doubt, with profound implications for regional peace and the credibility of international treaties.

Agencies