ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday issued a blunt warning to India against any unilateral attempt to undermine the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), declaring that Pakistan will defend its water rights through international legal and diplomatic forums.
Speaking at the launch of a report titled Weaponising Waters: Historical, Legal and Strategic Dimensions of IWT Suspension, hosted by Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), Tarar said international treaties could not be treated as optional arrangements to be discarded when politically convenient.
He warned that any attempt to bypass established treaty obligations would not only threaten Pakistan’s interests but could also set a dangerous precedent for international water governance. “Weaponisation of water” could have consequences extending well beyond the Pakistan-India dispute, the minister cautioned; arguing that unilateral moves against established international agreements risked undermining the broader rules governing shared water resources.
He said Islamabad would continue raising the issue at relevant international forums and pursuing legal and diplomatic avenues to ensure that Pakistan’s water rights remained protected under international law.
Turning to Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, Tarar called for a shift away from what he termed a “militant mindset” towards responsible statecraft, insisting that Islamabad wanted peaceful and stable relations with its neighbour.
Pakistan’s preference for dialogue and peaceful coexistence, he stressed, should not be mistaken for weakness. Islamabad would respond to attempts to undermine regional peace and security, he said.
The minister also criticised restrictions on women’s education and participation in the Afghan workforce, arguing that keeping a substantial section of the population out of economic and social activity was damaging Afghanistan’s development prospects.
On the law-and-order situation in the capital, Tarar said the government would not permit unauthorised gatherings to paralyse roads, restrict public movement or disrupt the daily lives of citizens. He also urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leadership to focus on governance and tackling the province’s security challenges rather than intensifying political confrontation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026