Pakistan warned Thursday against India’s campaign to weaponize water, citing more than a dozen Indian projects deliberately conceived to alter the natural course of the Indus river system — a lifeline for Pakistan’s agriculture and energy sectors — and accused New Delhi of pursuing a provocative “hydro-hegemony.”
Islamabad’s alarm comes as the two South Asian nuclear rivals — who fought a deadly conflict in May 2025 over a militant attack in the disputed Kashmir region — now face a deadlock over the future of the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty, which India unilaterally suspended last year.
“The treaty envisages the peaceful resolution of disputes within its own framework,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, noting that it has survived “three major conflicts and several other challenges.”
Dar delivered his remarks via a recorded message to the Brussels Conference on “Transboundary Water Resources: A Weaponized Global Common.”
Keynote Address by Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar at the Brussels Conference on “Transboundary Water Resources: A Weaponised Global Common”
18 June, 2026 pic.twitter.com/8DDVt0USxk— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) June 18, 2026
The world watched fearfully as the two nuclear neighbors engaged in one of the largest aerial dogfights in the history and targeted strategic sites. The conflict ended when President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between India and Pakistan on May 10, and later said the countries could have moved to the brink of a nuclear confrontation.
He apprised the international gathering of Pakistan’s fulfillment of its commitments, while noting that India had backed out of the globally accepted treaty.
“Consistent with the treaty’s provisions, we sought settlement through international mechanisms and respected decisions that even fell short of our expectations,” he said.
“At no stage was the outright unilateral abrogation of the treaty considered a viable course of action by the other side.”
South Asia Remains on Edge, a Year After Indian Aggression Against Pakistan
Terming India’s unilateral action “illegal,” Dar cited 17 Indian projects, including new reservoirs and expansions of existing structures.
The diplomat particularly drew attention to the “most alarming” diversion projects that New Delhi is pursuing on the Indus, Chenab, and Ravi rivers — waters that are allocated to Pakistan under the IWT.
“In total, at least 17 such projects will drastically alter the river system as a whole, giving India the tools for the hydro-hegemony it so desires,” Dar warned.
“River systems are not merely waterways — they are lifelines. They carry profound historical significance and serve as immediate sources of sustenance and survival.”
He argued that by trying to deny Pakistan its rightful access to water, India is pushing the region toward a “catastrophe of unparalleled magnitude in the making.”
The water dispute drew international attention when The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in June 2025 that New Delhi could not unilaterally keep the Indus Waters Treaty — signed and implemented by both countries since 1960 — suspended.
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New Delhi argues that, more than six decades after the treaty came into effect, the region has moved into a different climatic reality, and its growing development needs necessitate revisions to the agreement.
Pakistan — also a regional power with a burgeoning population of over 230 million — opposes India’s response to new threats, citing its hegemonic designs and unilateral imposition of New Delhi’s will on its neighbors.
Iftikhar Ali is a veteran Pakistani journalist, former president of UN Correspondents Association, and a recipient of the Pride of Performance civil award
