Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday warned India against any attempt to undermine the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), saying it could result in dire consequences for the region and wider international order.
For more than six decades, India and Pakistan amicably managed the Indus River system through the IWT Transboundary Water Sharing Treaty, signed on September 19, 1960. In April last year, India suspended the treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
Addressing the inaugural session of an international seminar titled “The Indus Waters Treaty: A Key Instrument for Peace and Regional Stability” at the Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad, FM Dar said any attempt to deprive Pakistan of its legal water rights under the treaty would have profound implications for peace and security in South Asia, home to nearly two billion people.
“If international agreements can be disregarded wherever they become politically inconvenient, confidence in the international legal order inevitably weakens. The sanctity of treaties is one of the foundations of peaceful relations between states.”
He explained that the implications extended “well beyond South Asia”.
Read: ‘We are talking about our lifeline, not a treaty,’ says Tarar at the IWT seminar
Detailing the apprehensions that Pakistan had reserved over the oversight of the IWT, he said that since April 2025, the country has observed a pattern of objectionable measures initiated by India, including “abrupt variations” in the flow of the Chenab and Jhelum rivers, as well as continuous efforts to expand the infrastructure capable of regulating the flow of western rivers.
“Such transgressions in international relations set dangerous precedents, undermine national credibility and challenge the foundations of cooperation between states.”
For Pakistan, he said, it was not just a legal debate, as water was the lifeline of more than 250 million people.
FM Dar emphasized that agriculture, food security, energy production and wider economic development depended on the uninterrupted flow of the three western rivers allotted to Pakistan.
“Protection of these waters is a matter of vital national interest,” he stressed.
Advising India to avoid actions that could increase tensions, the deputy prime minister said New Delhi should refrain from “sowing the seeds of war” and endangering the peace and stability of more than 2 billion people.
Read also: Zardari urges India to fully restore IWT, warns against ‘weaponisation’ of water
He said lasting peace in the region can only be achieved through dialogue, diplomacy and the treaty mechanisms established to resolve outstanding disputes, rather than through the use or threat of force.
Highlighting Pakistan’s efforts to ensure peace in the region, Dar said the country had consistently adhered to these principles and would continue to do so; lasting peace, however, depended on mutual respect, sovereign equality, and faithful implementation of international obligations.
He reiterated that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of its legal river rights under the treaty would be met with stiff resistance.
The treaty, negotiated over several years, aimed to ensure equitable and efficient use of shared water resources by both countries, the DPM asserted, while asserting that Islamabad neither sought confrontation nor war, but would not accept any illegal diversion of or encroachment on its share of water bodies.
Pakistan would use all legal and diplomatic avenues available under international law to protect its rights and interests, he further said.
“We respect international law and treaties.”
On India’s illegal suspension of the IWT, FM Dar said the National Security Committee, comprising civilian and military leaders, had unanimously decided to call any attempt to divert Pakistan’s share of water, stop its flow or reduce its legal water rights “an act of war”.
He said the decision reflected national consensus and reaffirmed the country’s determination to protect its water rights.
Read more: Dar writes to the UNSC seeking action on India’s attempts to alter river flows
Dar also said that Pakistan had consistently sought to promote peace and stability in the region and had supported efforts to reduce tensions and encourage dialogue during the recent US-Iran conflict.
“In a recent Oslo forum, a US envoy called Pakistan the cyber security provider in the region,” he noted.
Pakistan’s foreign policy was based on mutual respect, equality and peaceful relations with all countries, FM Dar said, adding that the UN Security Council had a responsibility to maintain international peace and security.
He also reminded India that it held the presidency of the UN Security Council and continued to support multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes.
FM Dar asserted that the government will continue to pursue peaceful, legal and diplomatic means to protect its interests.
“Shared waters must never be weaponized,” he concluded.
