India's weaponisation of water resources against Pakistan represents a stark manifestation of a fundamentally anti-peace mindset, according to a newly established academic chair. By treating the flow of water not as a shared resource but as a tool for strategic leverage, New Delhi reveals a policy rooted in coercion rather than cooperation.
Mirroring Israeli Strategies
This approach mirrors the strategies employed by Israel, India’s close ally, where the tendency to use basic survival needs as a means of control is a hallmark of the Zionist state. The strategic shift extends beyond a bilateral dispute between India and Pakistan; it is a catalyst for regional destabilisation.
When a state uses water as a weapon, it creates a cascade of instability that affects agriculture, food security, and the livelihoods of millions. The spill-over consequences are not limited to the subcontinent, as regional instability inevitably disrupts global trade and security.
Global Complicity and Irony
The irony is that this approach is often ignored or encouraged by global powers who claim to be the protectors of democracy and the free world. India’s actions should be viewed as a cautionary lesson in what happens when a state like Israel is allowed to make a mockery of international law while being bankrolled by the West.
Until the international community imposes actual accountability on the perpetrators of such strategic aggression, the region will remain in a state of precarious tension. The goal must be a return to a rules-based order where water is a right, not a weapon.
Academic Initiative at Rashid Latif Khan University
These observations were made during the inauguration of the Majid Nizami Chair at Rashid Latif Khan University. The chair is named after the late Majid Nizami, a prominent journalist and editor of the Pakistan-based newspaper Nawa-i-Waqt. The event highlighted the critical need for discourse on water security and regional peace.
