ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar has warned that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of its share of Indus waters could have “serious implications” for regional peace and security, urging India to resolve water-related differences through dialogue and established treaty mechanisms.
Addressing the International Water Symposium organised by the Embassy of Pakistan in Austria in collaboration with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna on Tuesday, Dar said Pakistan remained determined to protect its rights and interests under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and international law.
Video of the keynote address by Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 at the “International Water Symposium” organized by the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria, on 6 October 2026 https://t.co/7Z58nRMuvx
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) October 6, 2026
“There should be no misunderstanding about Pakistan’s determination to protect its rights and interests under the IWT and international law,” Dar said in a keynote video message.
“Any attempt to deprive Pakistan of the waters rightfully allocated to it would have serious implications for regional peace and security,” he added.
Dar said water was essential for human survival, prosperity and environmental sustainability, while shared river systems created a “permanent interdependence” between states.
He questioned whether shared waters would be managed through cooperation and agreed legal frameworks or become “instruments of political pressure and confrontation”.
For Pakistan, Dar said, water security was inseparable from food security, with the Indus River System supporting the lives and livelihoods of more than 250 million people.
He said the river system was vital to agriculture, food security, energy production, economic development and ecological sustainability. “Any attempt to undermine Pakistan’s rights over these waters carries consequences that extend far beyond a bilateral disagreement,” he said.
IWT ‘remains fully in force’
Dar said the IWT, signed in 1960 after a decade of negotiations, replaced “upstream discretion” with binding legal obligations and provided both countries with certainty and predictability.
He said the treaty was based on the principle that water resources on which millions depend should remain insulated from fluctuations in bilateral political relations.
However, Dar said India’s decision to place the treaty “in abeyance” in April 2025 had challenged that principle, noting that the agreement contained no provision allowing either side to suspend it unilaterally.
He also referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) ruling on August 31, saying the decision reaffirmed that the IWT “remains fully in force” and that India remained bound by its obligations under the treaty.
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“Pacta sunt servanda: agreements must be kept,” Dar said, describing the ruling as an important reaffirmation of Pakistan’s position and a fundamental principle of international law.
He asserted that India continued to display “intransigent behaviour and illegal actions”, while stressing that Pakistan had consistently sought to resolve differences through dialogue, diplomacy and the dispute-resolution mechanisms provided under the treaty. Dar said Pakistan was also participating in the Neutral Expert proceedings under the IWT administered by the PCA’s Vienna Office.
Cooperation and data-sharing
The deputy prime minister warned that using water as an “instrument of pressure” could have profound humanitarian, economic and security consequences beyond the region. He said such actions could establish a “dangerous precedent” for other transboundary river basins governed by international agreements.
“Amidst challenges to the international law-based world order, the international community should be strengthening treaty-based cooperation, not permitting its erosion,” he said.
Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue, diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes, outlining three principles for moving forward: implementation of the IWT in letter and spirit; resolution of differences through the treaty’s established mechanisms; and greater technical engagement, transparency and data-sharing between Pakistan and India.
“Our preference remains clear: cooperation over coercion, dialogue over confrontation, and the rule of law over unilateralism,” he said.
Under the IWT, the eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej – are allocated to India, while the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab – are largely allocated to Pakistan. The treaty also provides mechanisms for information-sharing and the resolution of disputes.
The dispute intensified in April 2025 when India announced that it was putting its obligations under the treaty on hold following the killing of 26 tourists in an attack in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad rejected the allegation and denied any involvement.
Pakistan subsequently warned that any attempt to stop its treaty-allocated water supplies would amount to an “act of war” and argued that the IWT did not permit unilateral suspension. India has rejected the PCA ruling, saying it does not recognise the court and “categorically” rejecting its verdict.
