- Indus Waters Treaty Cannot Be Suspended Unilaterally: Jadoon.
- Says systemic water risks cannot be addressed by any nation alone.
- Pakistan calls for respect for water laws ahead of UN conference 2026.
Islamabad has warned that New Delhi’s unilateral decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on hold has created an unprecedented crisis for Pakistan’s water security and regional stability.
The concerns were raised by Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, while speaking at the Global Water Bankruptcy Policy Roundtable hosted by the Permanent Mission of Canada and the United Nations University (UNU).
Ambassador Jadoon said India’s decision, taken last April, was followed by significant breaches of the treaty, including unannounced disruption of downstream water flows and withholding of hydrological information.
Describing India’s decision as a deliberate weaponization of water, he said Pakistan’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty is unequivocal.
“Pakistan’s position is unequivocal; the treaty remains legally intact and allows no unilateral suspension or amendment,” he added.
Ambassador Jadoon said that for more than six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 has served as a proven framework for fair and predictable management of the Indus River Basin.
Highlighting the importance of the basin, he said it sustains one of the world’s largest interconnected irrigation systems, provides over 80% of Pakistan’s agricultural water needs and supports the lives and livelihoods of more than 240 million people.
The ambassador said water insecurity has emerged as a systemic risk across regions affecting food production, energy systems, public health, livelihoods and human security.
Referring to Pakistan’s situation, he said the country is a semi-arid, climate-vulnerable low-lying state facing floods, droughts, accelerated glacial melt, groundwater depletion and rapid population growth, all of which put enormous pressure on already stressed water systems.
He said Pakistan is taking steps to strengthen water resilience through integrated planning, flood protection, irrigation rehabilitation, groundwater recharge and ecosystem restoration. He cited initiatives like Living Indus and Recharge Pakistan in this regard.
Ambassador Jadoon said systemic water risks cannot be addressed by any nation alone, especially in shared river basins. He said predictability, transparency and cooperation in transboundary water management are matters of survival for downstream populations.
The Ambassador added that water insecurity should be recognized as a systemic global risk in the run-up to the 2026 UN Water Conference, and called for cooperation and respect for international water law to be placed at the center of shared water management to ensure the protection of vulnerable downstream communities.
