Pakistan tells UN India’s IWT suspension threatens water security of 240m People

• Planning minister Ahsan Iqbal urges international community to uphold international treaty obligations

• Says unilateral move undermines decades of peaceful transboundary cooperation, undermines international treaty obligations

• Reaffirms commitment to UN SDGs despite climate setbacks, calling for global financial reforms to support countries bearing the brunt of climate change

• Warns climate disasters have erased years of development gains following 2022 and 2025 floods

 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday urged the international community to uphold international treaty obligations, telling a United Nations ministerial meeting that India's unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) threatened the water security and livelihoods of 240 million Pakistanis while undermining one of the world's longest-standing examples of peaceful transboundary water cooperation.

Addressing the ministerial meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said water security remained fundamental to Pakistan's sustainable development and warned that unilateral actions against internationally recognised agreements could have far-reaching consequences.

"Water security is equally fundamental. For more than six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty has stood as a model of peaceful transboundary cooperation," the minister said.

"Its unilateral and unlawful suspension by one party threatens the water security and livelihoods of 240 million Pakistanis and undermines respect for international treaty obligations," he added.

The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, has governed the sharing of the Indus river system between Pakistan and India for more than six decades.

India announced the suspension of the treaty following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last year that killed 26 people, accusing Pakistan of supporting the militants responsible for the assault.

Islamabad has rejected the allegation, denied any involvement in the attack and maintained that the treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally under international law. Pakistan has also stated that any attempt to block its share of river waters would be regarded as an "act of war."

Highlighting Pakistan's broader development priorities, Ahsan Iqbal reaffirmed the country's commitment to achieving the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) despite facing severe economic and climate-related challenges.

He said successive climate-induced disasters, including the devastating floods of 2022 and 2025, had wiped out years of development gains and placed enormous pressure on the country's economy and infrastructure.

"Few countries have experienced the devastating impact of climate change as acutely as Pakistan," he said.

The minister noted that Pakistan was actively restoring ecosystems, strengthening water security and integrating climate resilience into its national development planning to better prepare for future environmental challenges.

Calling for greater global solidarity, Iqbal urged comprehensive reforms to the international financial system, arguing that countries on the frontline of climate change should not be forced to shoulder the financial burden of disasters they had done little to create.

"The international financial architecture built after World War II must evolve to meet the new realities of the 21st century," he said.

He stressed that climate-vulnerable developing countries required greater financial support, concessional financing and equitable access to climate resources to build resilience and pursue sustainable development.

Pakistan is among the countries considered most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In recent years, the country has witnessed increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events, including the catastrophic floods of 2022, widespread flooding again in 2025, prolonged heatwaves and the accelerating melting of glaciers in the Himalayas and Karakoram ranges.

These climate-related challenges, the minister noted, have heightened concerns over Pakistan's long-term water security, food production, economic resilience and sustainable development, underscoring the urgent need for stronger international cooperation on climate action and adherence to international legal commitments.