LAHORE: India released unannounced water in the Chenab River, raising fears for Pakistan’s wheat crop after the river’s flow suddenly surged to 58,300 cusecs, prompting Islamabad to accuse New Delhi of renewed water aggression.
Pakistan said India opened the spillways of its dams without prior notification and is expected to refill the reservoirs shortly, a move that could sharply reduce the Chenab’s flow to near zero in the coming days. Officials warned that the sudden fluctuation in water levels could damage the standing wheat crop across vulnerable farming areas.
A television report described the development as a deliberate act of water terrorism aimed at harming Pakistan’s agriculture sector. The incident comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions following India’s suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty earlier this year.
On November 7, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar, raised the issue at the UN Security Council, calling India’s actions a textbook case of the weaponisation of shared natural resources. He told the council that the unilateral suspension of the treaty undermined international water law and placed millions of people at risk who rely on the Indus basin for food and energy security.
He said the treaty had remained a rare example of cooperation for more than six decades, even during periods of conflict, but warned that India’s recent decision was disrupting ecosystems, halting data sharing and threatening livelihoods across Pakistan. He added that no provision of the treaty allows for unilateral suspension or changes and noted that the Court of Arbitration’s 2025 award had reaffirmed its continued validity. He urged India to return to full compliance through established mechanisms.
The Security Council discussion took place on the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.
On the occasion, UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen highlighted how environmental harm driven by conflict continues to deepen food insecurity and displacement, citing examples from Gaza to Haiti.
Pakistan had earlier made similar allegations on October 7, when India was accused of releasing about 60,000 cusecs of water into the Sutlej River. The sudden discharge caused sharp rises in downstream water levels near Kasur.
At the time, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab warned that water flows in major rivers, including the Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum, were expected to rise due to both Indian releases and ongoing monsoon patterns.
The authority reported that the Chenab’s flow had earlier been measured at 31,000 cusecs at Marala, 17,000 at Khanki, 11,000 at Qadirabad and 11,000 at Trimmu, with moderate increases expected.
With river flows now fluctuating sharply again, officials in Islamabad warned that India’s upstream actions, combined with the suspended legal framework for water management, pose a serious threat to long-term regional stability. Pakistan has maintained that shared water systems must remain tools of cooperation rather than coercion.
