NEW YORK (Dunya News) – Pakistan has said that India's unilateral decision to hold the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance in April last year, followed by material breaches including unannounced disruptions of downstream flows and withholding of hydrological information, has created an unprecedented crisis for Pakistan's water security and regional stability.
Speaking during the Global Water Bankruptcy Policy Roundtable hosted by the Permanent Mission of Canada and the United Nations University (UNU), Ambassador Usman Jadoon, acting Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, described the Indian decision as that of a country, which deliberately weaponizes water.
"Pakistan's position is unequivocal; the Treaty remains legally intact and permits no unilateral suspension or modification," he emphasized in his statement.
Ambassador Jadoon said that for more than six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 has provided a time-tested framework for equitable and predictable management of the waters of the Indus River basin.
The Basin, he said, sustains one of the world's largest contiguous irrigation systems, providing over 80 percent of Pakistan's agricultural water needs, and supporting the lives and livelihoods of over 240 million people.
He stated that across regions, water insecurity has become a systemic risk, affecting food production, energy systems, public health, livelihoods, and human security.
"For Pakistan, this is a lived reality. We are a semi-arid, climate-vulnerable, lower-riparian country facing floods, droughts, accelerated glacier melt, groundwater depletion, and rapid population growth; all of which are placing immense pressure on already stressed water systems," he maintained.
Throwing light on the steps Pakistan has taken to deal with the water challenge, Ambassador Usman Jadoon said that Pakistan is strengthening its water resilience through integrated planning, flood protection, irrigation rehabilitation, groundwater replenishment, and ecosystem restoration, including through initiatives such as "Living Indus" and "Recharge Pakistan".
He, however, added that yet systemic water risk cannot be managed by any nation alone, particularly in shared river basins. He said that predictability, transparency, and cooperation in transboundary water governance are matters of survival for downstream populations.
“It is our considered view that water insecurity should be acknowledged as a systemic global risk in the run up to the 2026 UN Water Conference, thus placing cooperation and respect for international water law at the center of shared water governance, ensuring that commitments translate into real protection for vulnerable downstream communities,” the ambassador said.