Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, recently accused India of using a recent terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as justification to withdraw unilaterally from the longstanding Indus Waters Treaty – something he warned could have serious regional repercussions.
Asif made this argument during a press conference held on Saturday in Islamabad. “India is using IIOJK violence as part of its overall plan to justify withdrawing from international agreements and exploit it against Pakistan by creating false narratives against us and by shifting their obligations under Indus Waters Treaty,” according to Asif – calling this policy shift dangerous and irresponsible.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered and signed in 1960 by the World Bank, governs India and Pakistan’s water sharing arrangements across the Indus River system. Widely considered one of the world’s most successful water-sharing agreements, its success has endured through multiple wars as well as periods of high tension between their nuclear-armed neighbours.
Tensions have escalated recently, with India signaling their dissatisfaction over the treaty’s current framework and following several incidents of cross-border violence. Pakistani officials believe India is using IIOJK’s unstable status to undermine it and exert additional pressure against Pakistan through water management tactics.
“This issue isn’t about security or terrorism; it’s about control and coercion,” Asif declared. “India aims to weaponize water as an essential human right so as to put economic and environmental pressure on Pakistan.”
The minister cautioned India that any attempt by them to unilaterally exit or breach the treaty would violate both international law and further destabilize South Asia. He called upon the international community, particularly the World Bank, to intervene and ensure India abides by its treaty obligations.
India, for its part, has denied any plans of breaking the treaty but indicated a desire to revisit certain provisions that it believes have become outdated due to current realities, particularly concerns related to terrorism. India claims that revising certain aspects of it would help make sense in light of modern-day realities that call for “revisiting”.
Analysts note that water security between India and Pakistan has become an ever more critical concern due to climate change and increasing domestic water demands. Any disruption of the Indus Waters Treaty would likely have serious humanitarian and economic repercussions for Pakistan, whose agriculture heavily relies on river waters from Indus river.
As regional tensions intensify, both countries are under greater scrutiny to manage disputes responsibly and the future of the Indus Waters Treaty – once seen as an emblem of cooperation amid conflict – has never looked more uncertain than it does now.