Pakistan says Indus Waters Treaty dispute is a wider test of water rights and justice

ISLAMABAD: Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Minister Musadik Malik said on Monday that Pakistan was seeking to present the Indus Waters Treaty issue as more than a bilateral dispute, describing it as a matter tied to justice, basic rights and the protection of downstream countries’ access to water.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Islamabad alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Malik said Pakistan’s position had received backing at the United Nations and in international arbitration forums. He said discussions on floods and droughts often focus only on climate change, but maintained that another factor also affected whether farmers received water or faced shortages.

Referring to India, Malik said river flows affecting Pakistan should not depend on decisions taken across the border. He said a large share of Pakistan’s population relied on agriculture for jobs, that the sector made up a significant portion of the national economy, and that the country’s food security was wholly connected to water availability. He warned that allowing an upstream country to stop or alter cross-border river flows would have implications far beyond South Asia, raising broader concerns for other states dependent on transboundary rivers.

Addressing the issue in direct terms, Malik said "There is a tap whose handle is in the hands of the prime minister of our neighbouring country, who says not a single drop of water will be allowed to flow into Pakistan".

He added that the planned seminar on the treaty would not be limited to the Pakistan-India water arrangement alone, but would also address principles of justice and fundamental rights. Malik said the event would examine whether people and children living downstream around the world had a right to water.

Concerns over river flows and hydropower projects

Malik said Pakistan had for some time been concerned that a series of run-of-the-river hydropower schemes could allow India to temporarily hold back enough water during sensitive agricultural periods to harm crops downstream. According to him, international rulings had already accepted Pakistan’s position that any storage linked to such projects was subject to technical engineering limits and could not be undertaken without restriction.

He said recent developments showed that although water could not be blocked indefinitely, even brief interruptions had reinforced Pakistan’s earlier concerns about the timing of flows required for farming. He also said Pakistan had its own responsibility to strengthen water management through greater storage capacity and better regulation of seasonal flows.

Explaining that point, Malik said "The purpose of dams is not merely storage. Their purpose is to regulate water so that farmers receive it when crops actually need it".

Tarar says treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally

At the same press conference, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the Indus Waters Treaty could not be suspended by one side alone and added that the agreement had been formally recognised by both countries. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had consistently stated that water was linked to Pakistan’s survival.

Tarar said experts on water from different parts of the world would attend the seminar being held in Pakistan, which he described as the first international seminar of its kind. He also said the international community had acknowledged Pakistan’s stance on the treaty.