Pakistan asks UNSC to address India’s suspension of Indus Waters Treaty

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has urged the United Nations Security Council to take up the issue of India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, saying the move carries serious implications for peace, security and humanitarian conditions in South Asia.

According to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Mission to the United Nations, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, delivered a letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to the president of the Security Council, Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei of Bahrain, on Thursday.

The statement said the letter drew the Security Council’s attention to the issue one year after what it described as India’s illegal decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. It said the communication highlighted the move’s grave peace and security, and humanitarian consequences.

Pakistan called on the Security Council to take notice of what it termed an alarming situation and to ask India to restore full implementation of the treaty, resume all cooperation and data-sharing required under the agreement without delay, avoid any form of water coercion, and meet its international obligations in good faith.

The statement added that Ambassador Ahmad also briefed the Security Council president on what it called the regurgitation of baseless allegations and propaganda by India at a time when Pakistan is engaged in serious mediation efforts to promote regional and international peace and security.

He also underscored that the unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which the statement described as a longstanding item on the Security Council’s agenda, remained the root cause of instability in South Asia and required a just and lasting settlement in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Treaty and dispute

The Indus Waters Treaty was brokered by the World Bank in 1960 and governs the sharing of the Indus river system between Pakistan and India. Under the arrangement, the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — were allocated to India, while the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — were largely allocated to Pakistan.

The agreement has long been regarded as one of the most durable cooperative arrangements between the two countries, having remained in place through wars and repeated periods of tension. However, the treaty came under renewed strain after India announced in 2025 that it was putting its obligations under the agreement in abeyance.

India announced the unilateral suspension of its obligations under the treaty in April last year after an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 people. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the incident without evidence, while Pakistan rejected the allegation and called for a neutral investigation.

In June 2025, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a Supplemental Award of Competence stating that India could not unilaterally place the treaty in abeyance. India has maintained that it will keep the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan ends what it alleges is support for cross-border terrorism, an accusation Islamabad denies. New Delhi has also argued that climate change, technological developments and demographic pressures require changes to the treaty. Pakistan, however, says the agreement remains fully in force and binding, citing the 2025 ruling by the court of arbitration.

Humanitarian concerns

Pakistan has repeatedly said that turning water into a political issue creates major humanitarian and economic risks. At a UN World Water Day event in March, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Malik said India’s decision had undermined decades of cooperation and violated international law.

“For us, water is nature. Water is humanity. Water is our civilisation. For us, water is agriculture”, the statement read.

he said, adding that 25–30 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP and nearly half of its workforce depended on agriculture linked to the Indus basin.

Malik said water insecurity was not only a legal matter but also a humanitarian one, affecting food systems, women and children. He added that more than 61pc of women’s employment in Pakistan was tied to agriculture.