Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman yesterday said that India’s continued attempt to keep the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in illegal abeyance represents a dangerous departure from international law and the established norms governing transboundary water cooperation.
India Accused of Weaponising Water
“Water is life, not a weapon,” Senator Sherry Rehman said. “As the lower riparian state, Pakistan views this strategic challenge with the utmost seriousness. By attempting to unilaterally suspend the Treaty, India is moving in the opposite direction of the principles that underpin international agreements on shared water resources. Such actions undermine not only the integrity of the Indus Waters Treaty but also the rules-based international order that India once claimed to champion as a pillar of the postcolonial world and a voice of the Global South.”
Sherry Rehman, who also serves as Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, warned that India’s increasingly confrontational rhetoric on the Indus Waters Treaty marks a dangerous shift away from cooperative water governance.
Legal Consequences of India’s Stance
“Public declarations by senior Indian officials on diverting the Chenab River, refusing to restore the Treaty, and denying water to Pakistan are not merely political rhetoric, they carry serious legal consequences,” she said.
Senator Sherry Rehman stressed that the IWT contains no provision allowing either party to suspend or terminate it unilaterally. She noted that UN Special Rapporteurs have affirmed that India’s declaration has no legal effect on the Treaty’s continued operation or Pakistan’s rights, while the Permanent Court of Arbitration has repeatedly upheld the Treaty’s validity and rejected attempts to justify its suspension.
Pakistan to Defend Rights Through Legal Mechanisms
She added: “The Indus Waters Treaty remains fully in force under international law. There is no legal basis for unilateral suspension, no justification for weaponising water, and no substitute for respecting binding treaty obligations. Pakistan will continue to defend its rights through international legal mechanisms while advocating for cooperation, rules-based governance, and the peaceful management of shared water resources.”
