KEY POINTS
- Viral video of former Indian Army confirms India is using water as a weapon against Pakistan.
- Lt Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh admits India can block water during crop seasons and suddenly release it to cause devastating floods.
- Sudden water releases from dams in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have worsened floods in Punjab and Sindh.
- Millions displaced, crops destroyed, and infrastructure damaged amid Pakistan’s ongoing monsoon disaster.
- Pakistan warns that India’s weaponisation of water is a violation of the Indus Water Treaty and a crime against humanity.
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India has been weaponising water, as evidenced by a viral video of former Indian Army Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh openly admitting that New Delhi is manipulating the Indus river system to unleash floods and strangle Pakistan’s agriculture.
The reality of his statement is already unfolding on the ground, with devastating floods triggered by sudden water releases from Indian dams into the Ravi, Jhelum, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers, killing hundreds and displacing millions.
A video clip of retired Indian Army officer Lt Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh, widely circulated on social media, has confirmed long-standing fears that India is deliberately using shared waters as a weapon of war against Pakistan.
In the clip, Singh openly stated that India can block water flows during crop-growing seasons and suddenly release them at moments when they cause maximum devastation, particularly during the monsoon.
The retired general also declared that India can manipulate the flow of rivers covered under the World Bank–brokered Indus Water Treaty (IWT), a pact signed in 1960 between the two countries to govern the use of waters flowing through six rivers of the Indus basin.
He described the treaty as merely “bilateral” and therefore not binding in the international system, suggesting India could act unilaterally in violation of its decades-old obligations.
The impact of such weaponisation is already evident. In recent weeks, Pakistan has been battered by catastrophic floods after India suddenly released excess waters into the Ravi, Jhelum, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers from upstream dams located in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The surging torrents submerged vast swaths of farmland, destroyed standing crops, displaced millions, and inflicted widespread damage on homes and infrastructure across Punjab and Sindh provinces.
“This is state-sponsored environmental warfare,” said a senior Pakistani water expert, speaking on condition of anonymity. “India is no longer even hiding its strategy. The release of water is timed not for necessity, but for maximum destruction inside Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has repeatedly accused India of violating the IWT, with officials warning that New Delhi’s actions are threatening regional peace and stability.
Islamabad has also urged the World Bank and the international community to intervene, stressing that the deliberate manipulation of river flows amounts to a crime against humanity.
Experts note that the illegal as well as unilateral abrogation of the IWT, coupled with the weaponisation of water, has escalated beyond a legal dispute into a humanitarian catastrophe.
“By cutting off water when it is most needed and unleashing it when it causes floods, India is essentially playing with the lives of millions of innocent people,” said a Pakistani hydrologist.
The crisis comes as Pakistan struggles to cope with devastating monsoon rains and unprecedented floods that have already displaced millions.
The sudden release of water from Indian dams has magnified the destruction, turning overflowing rivers into weapons of mass destruction.
India’s use of water as a strategic weapon not only violates decades of international norms but also represents a dangerous escalation in the ongoing conflict with Pakistan.
Analysts warn that this trend, if unchecked, could lead to a full-blown humanitarian disaster and further destabilise South Asia.
