Pak steps up IWT campaign

Islamabad: Pakistan has stepped up its campaign against India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), warning that the credibility of international agreements would be undermined if the 1960 pact is not upheld.

Speaking at an international conference in Islama­bad, Dy PM Ishaq Dar described India’s decision as “illegal”, saying the agreement cannot be suspended unilaterally and that shared water resources should never be weaponised. Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (C) said the nation would defend its water rights and called for an international convention against the weaponisation of waterways. Minister Musadik Malik (R) warned that if the treaty failed, the post-World War II international order would be weakened.

India suspended the World Bank-brokered treaty after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. At a United Nations event marking World Water Day 2026, India's Permanent Representative Harish Parvathaneni said New Delhi was compelled to put the treaty in abeyance following repeated provocations and the failure of bilateral engagement. He said the treaty would remain in abeyance until Pakistan takes credible and irreversible steps to end support for terrorism.