Islamabad: Pakistan has warned that India’s unilateral decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance has triggered an unprecedented crisis for Pakistan’s water security and regional stability.
The warning was issued by Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, while speaking at the Global Water Bankruptcy Policy Roundtable, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Canada and the United Nations University (UNU).
Ambassador Jadoon said India’s decision, taken in April last year, was followed by material breaches of the treaty, including unannounced disruptions to downstream water flows and the withholding of critical hydrological data.
He described India’s actions as a deliberate weaponisation of water, stressing that Pakistan’s stance on the Indus Waters Treaty remains firm.
“Pakistan’s position is unequivocal; the Treaty remains legally intact and permits no unilateral suspension or modification,” he said.
The ambassador noted that for more than six decades, the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty has served as a time-tested framework for the equitable and predictable management of the Indus River basin.
Highlighting the treaty’s significance, he said the basin sustains one of the world’s largest contiguous irrigation systems, supplies over 80 percent of Pakistan’s agricultural water needs, and supports the livelihoods of more than 240 million people.
Ambassador Jadoon warned that water insecurity has emerged as a systemic global risk, impacting food production, energy systems, public health, livelihoods, and human security across regions.
Referring to Pakistan’s challenges, he said the country is a semi-arid, climate-vulnerable, lower-riparian state facing floods, droughts, rapid glacier melt, groundwater depletion, and population growth, all placing immense strain on already stressed water systems.
He said Pakistan is working to strengthen water resilience through integrated planning, flood protection, irrigation rehabilitation, groundwater recharge, and ecosystem restoration, citing initiatives such as Living Indus and Recharge Pakistan.
The ambassador stressed that systemic water risks cannot be managed by any country alone, particularly in shared river basins, adding that predictability, transparency, and cooperation in transboundary water governance are matters of survival for downstream populations.
He urged the international community to recognise water insecurity as a systemic global risk ahead of the UN Water Conference 2026, calling for respect for international water law and enhanced cooperation to protect vulnerable downstream communities.