by Mohammad Ishaq Dar

Iwish to bring to your attention to the escalating risks to regional peace and security in South Asia in the wake of India’s continued weaponization of water.

Under the false pretext of Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025, the Indian government on 24 April 2025 officially notified its decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. On the surface, India’s decision would appear as a reaction to the Pahalgam attack, however in reality it signified a marked escalation in India’s war of attrition against Pakistan in the domain of transboundary rivers. The unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is essentially a reflection of India’s long drawn policy of incrementally undermining the Indus Waters Treaty provisions, which undermines sanctity of international treaties, principles of international law and responsible conduct of inter-State relations.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan under the auspices of the World Bank. The Treaty allocates the three western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab) to Pakistan, the lower riparian; and the three eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India, the upper riparian. Article VIII of the Treaty provides an elaborate mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their respective use of the rivers, the Permanent Indus Commission, which has a Commissioner from each side. Article IX sets forth a detailed mechanism for the “settlement of differences and disputes”. Article XII (4) expressly states that “the provisions of this Treaty (…) shall continue in force until terminated by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two Governments”.

It is a matter of serious concern that India bypassed the established mechanisms contained in article VIII and IX of the Indus Waters Treaty and chose instead to unilaterally hold the Treaty in abeyance; whereas no such provision exists in the Treaty. On the contrary, the Treaty expressly provides for its continuity in perpetuity, until both parties agree to modify or terminate it.

The Indus Waters Treaty represents a solemn international commitment, based on the principle of pacta sunt servanda – that agreements must be honoured – as enshrined under international customary law and codified in article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The unilateral suspension of the Treaty by India is a serious violation of this principle, eroding the sanctity of treaties that form the bedrock of the international legal order.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a trans-boundary water sharing agreement holding a unique and special character, different from other treaties. As trans-boundary water treaties do not change over time, the Treaty cannot be terminated or held in abeyance unilaterally. The principle of rebus sic stantibus codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which allows for unenforceability of a treaty under certain conditions, does not apply to the Indus Waters Treaty. The baseless and unfounded allegations used as justification by India are extraneous to the matter regulated by the Indus Waters Treaty. A treaty cannot be suspended based on grievances unrelated to its subject matter. International law demands proportionality and linkage and does not operate on the basis of political expediency, coercion and unilateralism.

I would like to also underscore that the Treaty remains legally intact. The Permanent Court of Arbitration, in its recent decisions of June and August 2025, reaffirmed the continuing validity of the Treaty and its binding dispute-resolution mechanisms. These rulings leave no ambiguity, no party has the authority to unilaterally suspend or abandon this agreement. The Indus Waters Treaty is alive and its provisions remain binding on the parties. India must not be allowed to set a new precedent undermining international law.

India’s action also contravenes the established customary international water law. The Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses codifies three distinct principles widely recognized as customary law: (a) equitable and reasonable use; (b) the no-harm rule; and (c) the duty to cooperate. India’s illegal and unilateral move undermines each one of these three principles. The “equitable use” principle prohibits unilateral diversion or denial of water flow to co riparian states. The “no-harm” principle requires that India avoid causing significant harm to Pakistan – an obligation it risks breaching by disrupting water flows to a country whose agriculture depends on the Indus and the other two rivers for over 80 per cent of its irrigation. The “duty to cooperate” necessitates joint management, exchange of information and peaceful dispute resolution. By renouncing its treaty obligations, India is undermining not just bilateral trust, but also the shared responsibility of trans-boundary water governance pursuant the principles of customary international water law.

If India is allowed to hold a water-sharing treaty in abeyance with impunity, it could set out a new troubling precedent, triggering a domino effect with States opting to walk out of treaties citing “change in circumstances” as the rationale to conceal their underlying strategic and political objectives. This would be a direct affront to the international legal order and norms governing the inter-State relations. Safeguarding the sanctity of international treaties is thus imperative to avoid conflicts, maintain order and preserve international peace and security. The Security Council has already recognized the link between natural resource management and international peace and security. Nowhere is that link more evident than in the case of the Indus waters.

Besides contravening international law, India’s actions entail grave humanitarian implications. The Indus River system remains a lifeline for Pakistan’s agriculture and food security. Any disruption of water flows into this system threatens the socioeconomic stability of over 240 million Pakistanis. In a country grappling with water scarcity as a challenge, such disruption could trigger a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.

Several resolutions of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have recognized water as a human right, denial of which constitutes a violation of international human rights law. Millions in Pakistan would be deprived of their right to drinking water, right to food, and right to health and hygiene in the absence of adequate water flows from India into Pakistan.

Meanwhile, by holding the Treaty in abeyance, India has put an immediate halt to all facets of the Treaty, including data-sharing, joint oversight and any form of dialogue or cooperation, leaving Pakistan without any advance information on downstream river flows, flood forecasts, or drought risks. This has severely undermined our climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts and our ability to grapple with the devastating impact of floods. The devastation caused by the recent floods in Pakistan was compounded by the denial of timely data-sharing, an obligation clearly enshrined in the Treaty. The absence of critical information turned a natural disaster into a humanitarian tragedy, costing lives, displacing families and eroding trust. This painful episode underscored what is at stake when such Treaty obligations are disregarded and ordinary people bear the brunt: farmers who see their crops drowned, children left without homes and critical infrastructure is destroyed.

India’s disregard of the Indus Waters Treaty risks escalating the protracted Jammu and Kashmir dispute into an even more dangerous flashpoint. Water disputes have the potential to ignite major conflicts, particularly when the parties involved have a long festering dispute, such as the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which remains unresolved due to India’s non-implementation of Security Council resolutions providing for the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Kashmiri people. The statements by the Indian leadership have manifested the intentions to block water flows to Pakistan. The weaponization of water by India has become an ever-present trigger for conflict in South Asia with far-reaching implications.

In view of India’s illegal action of subverting the Indus Waters Treaty, the National Security Committee of Pakistan declared on 24 April 2025 that any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty will be considered as an act of war. Pakistan is fully entitled to take all appropriate steps to safeguard its due share of water as guaranteed under the Treaty. At the same time, Pakistan remains firmly committed to dialogue, understanding and cooperation as the only sustainable pathways to peace and security.

With the foregoing in view, the Security Council, with the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security under the Charter of the United Nations must seize itself of this urgent and serious matter, call for immediate restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, and prevent the weaponization of water by India, which poses a grave risk to peace and stability in South Asia.

It is requested that the present letter be circulated as a document of the Security Council in connection with the item entitled “The India-Pakistan question”.

Mohammad Ishaq Da