Tensions between India and Pakistan have entered a dangerous new phase, with water security emerging as a potential flashpoint. Following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April 2025 that killed 26 tourists, New Delhi announced it would hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) “in abeyance” — effectively suspending its participation in the 1960 agreement that governs the sharing of the Indus River system. Islamabad responded swiftly, warning that any attempt to divert or block the flow of water allocated to Pakistan under the treaty would be considered an “act of war.”
Brokered by the World Bank after nine years of negotiation, the Indus Waters Treaty is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful water-sharing agreements. It has endured three major wars and countless military standoffs between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Under its terms, India controls the three eastern rivers — the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — while Pakistan has exclusive rights to the three western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — which carry roughly 80% of the system’s total water flow. India is permitted limited non-consumptive uses of the western rivers, such as hydropower generation, but cannot significantly alter their flow.
India’s decision to suspend the treaty marks the first time either nation has formally stepped back from the agreement. While New Delhi has not announced immediate infrastructure projects to divert water, the move signals a strategic shift: water is now being wielded as a diplomatic and coercive tool. For Pakistan, the stakes are existential. The Indus system irrigates over 80% of the country’s cultivated land — roughly 16 million hectares — and supports the livelihoods of tens of millions in Punjab and Sindh provinces. Agriculture contributes nearly 23% of Pakistan’s GDP and employs over 37% of its labor force. Any disruption to seasonal flows, particularly during the critical kharif (summer) planting season, could trigger food insecurity, economic instability, and internal displacement.
Experts caution that India cannot simply “turn off the tap.” The geography of the western rivers — high-volume, steep-gradient flows through mountainous terrain — makes large-scale diversion or storage technically difficult without massive infrastructure that would take years to build. Moreover, the treaty contains no exit clause; Article XII states it can only be modified by a duly ratified treaty between both governments. Unilateral suspension has no basis in the treaty text or international water law. The World Bank, a signatory and guarantor, has so far declined to intervene, urging both sides to resolve differences through the treaty’s built-in dispute resolution mechanisms — the Permanent Indus Commission, neutral experts, or a Court of Arbitration.
For farmers in southern Punjab or Sindh, the threat isn’t abstract — it’s a matter of whether canals will run in June. For urban residents in Lahore or Karachi, it could mean higher food prices and water rationing. In India, the move may play well domestically as a strong response to terrorism, but it risks long-term diplomatic isolation and environmental consequences downstream. Climate change is already shrinking glacial meltwater that feeds the Indus; adding geopolitical volatility to hydrological uncertainty makes the region’s water future even more precarious. The treaty was designed precisely to prevent water from becoming a weapon. Its erosion — formal or de facto — removes a critical stabilizing pillar in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
Image: Photo: Kashif Shah · Pexels
Based on reporting from aljazeera.com.
Cookies & Privacy: This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Read more.
