Indus Waters Treaty suspension created unprecedented crisis: Pak envoy at UN
Accuses India of 'weaponising' water
Pakistan has sought to project India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance as an “unprecedented crisis” for its water security, raising the issue at the United Nations months after New Delhi took the step in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack carried out by Pakistan-backed terrorists.
Addressing the Global Water Bankruptcy Policy Roundtable at the UN, Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative Ambassador Usman Jadoon said India’s decision last April to put the 1960 treaty in abeyance had impacted downstream water security and regional stability.
India had announced the move following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, triggering a series of diplomatic and strategic measures against Pakistan. The decision to suspend participation in the decades-old treaty was framed by New Delhi as part of a broader response to cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
In his statement, Jadoon claimed that India’s action, followed by what he described as disruptions in downstream flows and withholding of hydrological data, had created a crisis for Pakistan’s water security. He asserted that the treaty remained legally intact and did not permit unilateral suspension, while accusing India of “weaponising” water.
Indian officials have underlined that the Indus Waters Treaty cannot be insulated from sustained acts of terrorism and hostile conduct, and that the April decision followed years of Pakistan’s refusal to address India’s concerns, even as New Delhi remained bound by a treaty that allocates a disproportionate share of waters to Pakistan.
Signed in 1960, the IWT allocates the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan and the eastern rivers —Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India, while allowing each side specified uses of rivers allocated to the other. Under the treaty framework, India is entitled to about 20 per cent of the waters of the Indus River System, with the remaining 80 per cent flowing to Pakistan.
Despite this asymmetry, Pakistan has repeatedly objected to even treaty-compliant Indian projects and has resisted bilateral technical engagement, while taking disputes to international fora.
In his UN remarks, Jadoon also highlighted Pakistan’s internal water challenges, citing floods, droughts, glacier melt, groundwater depletion and population growth. He acknowledged that Pakistan is a lower-riparian, semi-arid country facing mounting climate stress, and said water insecurity was affecting agriculture, energy and livelihoods.
