IWT still ‘alive’: DPM Dar urges international action on Indian breaches

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said India’s impunity in violating the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) must not be accepted by the international community, emphasising that the treaty remains alive and its provisions legally binding on both parties.

“Pakistan would like to reiterate that the IWT is a binding legal instrument that has made an invaluable contribution to peace and stability in South Asia. Its violation, on the one hand, threatens the inviolability of international treaties, and, on the other, it poses serious threats to regional peace and security, principles of good neighborliness and norms that govern inter-state relations,” the foreign minister said while addressing to the to the diplomatic corps in Islamabad on Thursday.

FM Dar said the Permanent Court of Arbitration, in its recent decisions of June and August 2025, reaffirmed the continuing validity of the IWT and its binding dispute-resolution mechanisms.

“These rulings leave no ambiguity,” he maintained.

Pakistan seeks clarification from India over Chenab River flow disruption

Dar said Pakistan also took note of the communication by several UN Special Procedures and Mandate Holders addressed to India in which serious legal, human rights, and humanitarian concerns have been expressed regarding Indian illegal actions pertaining to the IWT.

“We witnessed in April this year, India’s unilateral abeyance of the IWT in gross contravention of international law, especially Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

“But what we are witnessing now is material breaches by India that strike at the heart of the Indus Waters Treaty, with escalating consequences both for regional stability and sanctity of international law,” he said.

Dar said abrupt variations in the flow of River Chenab have been observed twice this year, during April 30 to May 21; and in the past week from December 7 to 15. These variations in water flow are of extreme concern for Pakistan, as they point to unilateral release of water by India into River Chenab, he added.

“India has released this water without any prior notification or any data or information sharing with Pakistan, as required under the treaty.

“India’s manipulation of water has prompted our Indus Water Commissioner to write a letter to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification on the matter, as provided for under the IWT.”

He said India’s most recent action clearly exemplifies the weaponisation of water, to which Pakistan has been consistently drawing attention of the international community.

India’s manipulation of water, at a critical time of our agriculture cycle, directly threatens the lives and livelihoods, as well as food and economic security of our citizens, he stressed.

“We expect India to respond to the queries raised by Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner, refrain from any unilateral manipulations of river flows, and fulfill all its obligations in letter and spirit under the IWT provisions,” he said.

The deputy prime minister said the recent violation of the treaty by India is just one example. India has consistently attempted to undermine the treaty in a systemic manner, he said.

“India’s construction of hydropower projects such as Kishanganga and Ratle involves design features that blatantly violate Treaty’s technical specifications. India continues to build illegal dams in sheer disregard of the Treaty obligations, to impose ‘fait accompli’,” he said.

Dar added that with building of dams, Indian capacity to store and manipulate water is also increasing, which endangers Pakistan’s security, economy and livelihood of 240 million people of Pakistan.

Experts urge Pakistan that it must assert its water rights

“India has also halted sharing advance information, hydrological data, and joint oversight required by the Treaty, which has exposed Pakistan to floods and droughts. Such illegal and irresponsible Indian conduct has all the potential to trigger a humanitarian crisis in Pakistan.

“The ongoing water manipulation by India gravely contravenes International Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, while hindering progress on Sustainable Development Goals on poverty and hunger. If India is allowed to violate Treaty obligations with impunity, we are setting a dangerous precedent,” he said.

Alarmingly, FM Dar said, India is now subverting the Treaty’s own dispute resolution mechanism. By refusing to participate in the Court of Arbitration and Neutral Expert Proceedings India is pursuing a deliberate strategy to sabotage the well-established arbitration process under the treaty provisions, he said.