Pakistan calls on the President of the UN Security Council to pressure India to restore the Indus Waters Treaty

Pakistan on Thursday urged the United Nations to urge India to restore full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), warning that New Delhi’s “illegal” decision to put the agreement on hold had serious peace, security and humanitarian consequences for the region.

The development comes after the end of a year since India put the Indus Waters Treaty on hold following last year’s April 22 attack in Pahalgam in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), in which 26 people were killed by unidentified assailants.

According to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Mission to the UN, the country’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, handed over a letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to the President of the UN Security Council, Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei of Bahrain.

Also Read: FO slams India’s ‘false narrative’ linking Pakistan to Pahalgam attack

“The letter draws the attention of the Security Council, one year after India’s illegal decision to put the IWT on hold, to its serious peace and security and humanitarian consequences,” the statement said.

It urged the Security Council to take note of the situation and call on India to restore full implementation of the treaty, resume all treaty-mandated cooperation and data sharing without delay, refrain from any form of coercion and fully comply with its international obligations in good faith.

The statement added that the permanent representative also briefed the Security Council president on what it described as “the resumption of baseless allegations and propaganda by India” at a time when Pakistan was engaged in mediation efforts to promote regional and international peace and security.

Ambassador Iftikhar further emphasized that “the unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute – a long-standing item on the SC’s agenda – was the root cause of instability in South Asia, necessitating a just and lasting solution in accordance with relevant SC resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people”, the statement concluded.

The 1960 IWT stands as one of the most carefully negotiated and legally robust transboundary water agreements in modern international law. Signed between Pakistan and India with the good offices of the World Bank, the treaty was designed to remove water from the volatility of politics and conflict and anchor it firmly in law, engineering discipline and neutral dispute resolution. It is a binding international instrument governed by the fundamental principle of pacta sunt servanda – that treaties must be observed in good faith.

Read: Pakistan accuses India of violating the Indus Waters Treaty

At the heart of the IWT is a permanent and unqualified allocation of rivers. Article II assigns the eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej – exclusively to India, while Article III gives Pakistan exclusive rights over the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. This award was the basic agreement of the treaty.

India’s access to the western rivers is permitted only within the narrow limits of Article III, para. 2, of the Indus Waters Treaty, read with Annexes D and E, which allows limited, non-consumptive uses such as hydroelectric power plants in the river. These permits are subject to strict design and operational restrictions, including restrictions on water bodies, a ban on storage for flow regulation, and a ban on technical features that enable control of water flows to Pakistan.

These safeguards aimed to protect Pakistan as the lower river bank and prevent water from becoming a strategic tool. Pakistan’s objections to projects such as Kishanganga and Ratle stem from concerns over excessive water bodies, fenced drains and mechanisms that Pakistan says violate treaty provisions and can affect downstream flows, especially during lean seasons.

The dispute entered a more worrying phase in April 2025 when, following a terrorist incident in Pahalgam, India announced that it was putting the Indus Waters Treaty “on pause”.

Read more: India skips IWT proceedings in Hague

Earlier this year, India unilaterally approved the Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab River, an act that violates the provisions of the Western Rivers Treaty and violates Pakistan’s legally protected rights under the binding international agreement.

The unilateral suspension and expedited approval of upstream projects, including the withholding of hydrological data, diversion of river flows and alteration of natural regimes, constitute deliberate water weapons that endanger Pakistan’s agriculture, food security, hydropower generation and ecological stability. Under the IWT, customary international law and Article 51 of the UN Charter, Pakistan has clear legal options to respond.

International law expressly prohibits the use of water as a weapon against downstream populations, making strict enforcement of the IWT essential not only for bilateral stability but also for the integrity of global water management norms.