Pakistan Rejects India's Indus Treaty Move, Alleges 'Weaponisation' of Water

Pakistan on Thursday rejected India's decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance , accusing New Delhi of attempting to use shared river waters as a strategic tool and denying Pakistan its rightful share.

Speaking at the Foreign Office's weekly briefing, spokesperson Tahir Andrabi alleged that India was using terrorism accusations as a pretext to suspend the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty . He claimed the real issue was India's attempt to treat shared international rivers as a strategic asset that could be controlled, withheld or diverted. Andrabi said water should not be used as a tool of coercion and argued that India's move violated its international obligations under the treaty.

India placed the IWT in abeyance after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack , citing broader concerns over cross-border terrorism. New Delhi has maintained that bilateral agreements cannot operate normally amid persistent security threats linked to Pakistan.

Under the treaty, Pakistan receives the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers , while India has exclusive rights over the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej , along with limited usage rights over the western rivers for specified purposes under the agreement.

Andrabi also referred to an international seminar in Islamabad where participants backed the treaty and opposed what Pakistan described as the "weaponisation of water." Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated that the treaty could not be suspended or terminated unilaterally, calling India's decision "illegal, unilateral and without any basis."

The Indus Waters Treaty , signed in 1960 , has long been considered one of the world's most durable water-sharing agreements despite recurring tensions between the two neighbours.