Assalamualaikum - Pakistan urges return to the Indus Waters Treaty after court upholds it
Assalamualaikum. ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, on Thursday urged that the 1960 World Bank–brokered Indus Waters Treaty between Pakistan and India be respected and restored, after India announced it would suspend the treaty in April.
The treaty divides management of the Indus basin rivers between the two neighbours. India said in April it would hold the agreement “in abeyance” following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed more than two dozen tourists; New Delhi blamed Pakistan, which denied involvement.
In August, the Court of Arbitration issued an award clarifying how India’s new run-of-river hydropower projects on the western rivers - Chenab, Jhelum and Indus - should meet the treaty’s criteria. Pakistan says the ruling supports its position.
Speaking at a Security Council briefing on the environmental impacts of armed conflict, Ambassador Ahmad highlighted millions of tonnes of rubble, explosive remnants, contaminated water, degraded soils and deforestation as examples of harm caused by conflict - damage that erodes governance, forces people from their homes and worsens humanitarian needs.
“Of even greater concern is the deliberate weaponisation of shared natural resources. A clear example is the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty earlier this year,” he said.
He noted the Court of Arbitration’s 2025 award reaffirmed the treaty’s continuing validity and its dispute-settlement mechanisms, backing Pakistan’s view that disagreements must be solved within the treaty’s legal framework. Pakistan expects full respect for the treaty and an early return to compliance through the agreed channels.
Under the IWT, Pakistan has use rights over the Indus basin’s western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab - for irrigation, drinking water and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers - Ravi, Beas and Sutlej - with more freedom of use but obligations not to materially alter their flow. India may use the western rivers for limited power and irrigation purposes, but cannot store or divert large volumes, according to the pact.
The two neighbours have long disputed hydroelectric projects on the shared rivers, with Pakistan saying India’s planned dams could reduce its water flows.
The Court of Arbitration said India must “let flow” the western rivers for Pakistan’s unrestricted use, and that exceptions for hydro-electric generation must strictly follow the treaty’s rules rather than any unilateral “best practices” interpretation. Its findings on outlets, gated spillways, turbine intakes and freeboard align with Pakistan’s reading of the treaty and limit India’s ability to increase pondage.
The foreign office also pointed out the Court observed that its awards are “final and binding” on both parties and have controlling legal effect on future tribunals and neutral experts.
Ambassador Ahmad reiterated Pakistan’s position that no part of the IWT - which has governed fair sharing of Indus basin waters for over six decades - allows unilateral suspension or alteration.
“India’s unlawful unilateral decision to suspend this framework undermines the treaty’s letter and spirit, threatens ecosystems, disrupts data-sharing, and endangers millions who depend on the Indus system for food and energy security and for their survival,” he said.
He warned that such actions do not only hurt one country: they weaken trust in international water law and risk setting a precedent for resource-based coercion elsewhere. That, he said, should worry the whole international community.
Wassalam.
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