ISLAMABAD (MNN); Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar on Monday reaffirmed that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) remains a legally binding international agreement that cannot be unilaterally suspended, revoked or amended by India, insisting that Pakistan’s right to the waters of the Indus basin is fully protected under international law.
Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad alongside Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik, Tarar said Pakistan’s legal position on the treaty had received broad international recognition.
“The Indus Waters Treaty is a legally enforceable agreement accepted by both countries. It remains valid and operational, and no party has the authority to alter or suspend it unilaterally,” he said.
The minister stressed that water was Pakistan’s lifeline and a national red line, echoing statements made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Tarar noted that India’s attempts to challenge the treaty had failed to gain international support, adding that Pakistan’s legal and diplomatic stance had been widely endorsed at global forums.
He announced that an international seminar on the Indus Waters Treaty would be held in Islamabad on Tuesday, bringing together water experts, legal scholars and international specialists to discuss Pakistan’s rights under the agreement and the broader principles of international water law.
Speaking on the occasion, Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik said Pakistan’s position had also been upheld before the international Court of Arbitration, reinforcing the country’s legal claims regarding the treaty.
Referring to recent statements by Indian leaders about restricting water flows into Pakistan, Malik warned that any attempt to control Pakistan’s water resources would directly threaten the country’s food security, economy and agricultural sector.
He noted that nearly half of Pakistan’s population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, while the sector contributes around one-quarter of the national economy. Allowing another country to manipulate water supplies, he said, would endanger millions of livelihoods.
Malik added that Pakistan had already made it clear that any effort to deprive the country of its share of water would have serious consequences. However, he emphasized that the issue was not limited to Pakistan alone but concerned the broader principles of justice and international law governing shared rivers.
Questioning the precedent such actions could set globally, he asked whether upstream countries could arbitrarily deny downstream nations access to water despite existing treaties and international conventions.
The minister also called for political consensus within Pakistan on the construction of new dams and water storage infrastructure, saying improved regulation of water resources was essential for national security and sustainable development.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, governs the distribution of the Indus River System between India and Pakistan. While India has recently announced that it would place the treaty in abeyance, Pakistan maintains that such a move has no legal standing under international law.
Pakistan has also raised objections to India’s proposed Chenab-Beas Link Project, arguing that diverting water from the Chenab River would violate the Indus Waters Treaty as well as international legal obligations governing transboundary water resources.
