Pakistan Says India’s IWT Abeyance Move Illegal at UNSC
Pakistan has strongly rejected India’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty during a United Nations Security Council debate, calling New Delhi’s attempt to place the treaty in abeyance unlawful and politically motivated. The exchange took place during an open debate on natural resource governance, where water-sharing obligations and the misuse of shared resources came under sharp diplomatic focus.
At the session, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, raised the issue of India’s unilateral move regarding the Indus Waters Treaty. He warned that shared water systems should not be used as tools of coercion, especially when formal treaty obligations remain legally binding on both sides.
India’s representative responded by accusing Pakistan of cross-border terrorism and linking that claim to the future of bilateral cooperation under the treaty. Pakistan’s First Secretary Ansar Shah rejected the Indian statement, saying New Delhi was trying to misrepresent facts and shift attention away from the legal status of the water-sharing agreement.
Shah told the council that the treaty contains no clause allowing one side to suspend or freeze it unilaterally. He also referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s August 2025 position, which reaffirmed that the Indus Waters Treaty remains valid, binding and fully operational along with its dispute settlement mechanisms.
Pakistan argued that India’s approach amounts to weaponising a shared natural resource for political pressure. The Pakistani side said any attempt to use water flows as leverage would directly affect the livelihoods and well-being of more than 240 million people, making the matter relevant not only to bilateral relations but also to regional peace and security.
The diplomatic confrontation also expanded into the Kashmir dispute. Pakistan dismissed India’s claim over occupied Jammu and Kashmir and said the territory’s disputed status cannot be altered through unilateral measures. Islamabad maintained that the Kashmiri people continue to be denied their right to self-determination despite repeated United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, has long been regarded as one of the most important water-sharing agreements between Pakistan and India. It allocates the use of the Indus river system and provides mechanisms for resolving disputes, making it a rare framework that has survived wars, diplomatic breakdowns and periods of extreme tension.
Pakistan’s latest intervention at the UNSC reflects growing concern that water security is becoming part of broader political confrontation in South Asia. For an agriculture-dependent country like Pakistan, disruption or uncertainty over river flows can affect food security, irrigation planning, power generation, rural livelihoods and long-term climate resilience.
The exchange also highlights how natural resource governance is increasingly tied to international peace and security. Pakistan argued that the Security Council should remain vigilant when states exploit shared resources in violation of treaties, particularly in regions where unresolved disputes already carry the risk of escalation.
The next phase will depend on diplomatic pressure, legal processes and the willingness of international forums to keep the treaty’s dispute settlement mechanisms intact. Pakistan is expected to continue raising the issue at multilateral platforms while insisting that India cannot lawfully suspend a binding water treaty through unilateral political action.