Information Minister Atahullah Tarar on Wednesday warned that India’s holding of the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance could have implications for global transboundary water governance, urging the international community to note the “wider precedent”. India unilaterally suspended the accord in April last year — a move that was followed by a brief military conflict between the two sides in May 2025. He made the remarks while addressing an event in Islamabad. “We are a peaceful nation, but we cannot allow India to weaponise water because it is the basic right of the 240 million people of Pakistan, ” Tarar said, drawing attention to the “wider precedent involved”. “If a state can unilaterally put a binding international water treaty in abeyance despite established dispute resolution mechanisms, the implications extend to transboundary water governance across the world, ” Tarar warned, adding that it may have implications for countries sharing water under similar frameworks. Tarar reiterated that Pakistan will continue to engage the international community and defend the country’s vital national interests. At the outset of his address, Tarar said, “I take great pride in the fact that wherever we go, we say we are the people of the Indus Valley [. .] we identify ourselves with the Indus waters”. He noted that when the treaty was signed, the signatories “did not envisage that there would come a time a few decades down the line when conditions in India would deteriorate so much that they would be legally ignorant, morally bankrupt and devoid of ethics”. Tarar held that the Indus Water Treaty was legally binding upon both parties. “It contains stipulations that this legal instrument cannot be unilaterally revoked, rescinded, or altered, ” Tarar added. He further stated that the treaty cannot be “unilaterally altered, revoked, rescinded or held in abeyance, for that matter, but even if there is a dispute, both the parties have to adhere to the terms and conditions of the treaty”. At this, Tarar recalled an August 2025 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), saying, “The court upheld Pakistan’s stance, giving legitimacy and strength to the argument that there cannot be a unilateral attempt to change the status of this treaty”. In its August 2025 order, the PCA had backed Pakistan’s stance, declaring that the Indus Water Treaty between the two countries remained fully in force, as India had no justification for ending or suspending the agreement. More to follow.
Tarar warns India’s unilateral actions on IWT may have implications for water governance globally
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