Pakistan says Indus Waters Treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally, vows response

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Tuesday the Indus Waters Treaty cannot be amended, revoked, suspended or held in abeyance by either country acting alone.

Speaking at an Islamabad seminar on the treaty's legal and constitutional framework, he said the 1960 pact protects the water rights of Pakistan's 240 million people and warned that any attempt to block the country's share of river water would draw a strong response.

Can India unilaterally suspend the Indus Waters Treaty?

No. The treaty can only be amended through mutual agreement between Pakistan and India, Tarar said. Since it was concluded jointly by both countries in 1960, neither side can revoke, suspend or alter it without the other's consent. He said this legal position has gained international backing.

Tarar called the Indus Waters Treaty an instrument of peace and regional stability, signed under World Bank auspices more than six decades ago.

He said discussions about the treaty were really discussions about the lifeline of nearly 240 million Pakistanis. Water, he added, was not simply a resource for the country but a matter of life itself.

Why does Pakistan consider the Indus River central to its identity?

Tarar described the Indus River as the foundation of Pakistan's history and civilization. He said the river system had sustained one of the world's oldest civilizations for thousands of years, connecting communities from Gilgit-Baltistan's mountains to the agricultural plains of Punjab and Sindh.

He said the treaty's survival through wars and decades of strained ties with India proved that cooperation and adherence to international commitments remain the only sustainable path to peace.

He framed the treaty as an example of the rules-based international order, reflecting good faith, respect for agreements and the peaceful resolution of disputes between nations.

What prompted Pakistan's latest statement on the treaty?

Tarar's remarks came more than a year after India announced it was placing its treaty obligations in abeyance, following an attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people.

India blamed Pakistan for the attack, an allegation Islamabad denied while calling for a neutral investigation.

The minister said India's move had caused "international embarrassment" at legal and diplomatic forums. He argued that any unilateral attempt to suspend the treaty lacks moral, legal and social foundation, and that protecting the agreement is increasingly urgent as climate change accelerates glacier melt and water scarcity across the region.

How is Pakistan responding to the dispute?

Tarar said South Asia, home to nearly a quarter of the world's population, must turn water into a basis for cooperation rather than conflict. He said history shows rivers connect civilizations rather than divide them, and that respecting international agreements is essential to maintaining trust among nations.

He warned that the "weaponization of water," or unilateral efforts to alter existing arrangements, would undermine regional peace and international law. Pakistan remains committed to peaceful engagement and dialogue, he said, but its leadership is determined to act if attempts are made to block the country's water supply.

Tarar said Pakistan will continue defending the Indus Waters Treaty and its water rights through legal and international forums, while protecting the lives and livelihoods tied to the river.