WASHINGTON – Pakistan renewed its call for dialogue, international law and institutional cooperation to safeguard the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar warning against the politicization or weaponization of shared water resources.
Deputy premier Dar addressed high-level policy dialogue at Embassy of Pakistan in Washington titled “The Indus Waters Treaty: South Asian Security at Crossroads.” The forum brought together American policy experts, leading think-tank scholars, academics, international organization representatives, water and legal specialists, and members of the diplomatic community to examine the future of the Treaty and its importance for peace and security in South Asia.
The event sheds light on Pakistan’s effort to place the Indus Waters Treaty debate within a broader framework of international law, regional stability, climate resilience and peaceful diplomacy.
Opening the dialogue, Ambassador of Pakistan to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh highlighted the importance of the Pakistan Embassy Forum as a platform for informed, constructive and substantive discussion on major regional and international issues.
The envoy stressed exceptional resilience of the Indus Waters Treaty, noting that the agreement has endured wars, political crises and prolonged periods of tension between Pakistan and India. His remarks reinforced Pakistan’s position that water cooperation can and should remain a stabilizing force even when wider political relations are difficult.
Dar pushed for the legal sanctity of the Indus Waters Treaty and its broader significance for regional peace. “The Indus Waters Treaty is not merely an agreement about water. It is a legal framework governing a vital shared resource, an instrument of regional stability and, today, an important test of the sanctity of international agreements,” he added.
He also rejected India’s unilateral decision of April 2025 to place the Treaty “in abeyance,” maintaining that the Treaty provides no basis for such unilateral action.
He warned that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of waters allocated to it under the Treaty could have profound consequences for regional peace and security. Recent reporting similarly highlighted Dar’s position that unilateral interference could affect not only South Asian stability but also the wider principle of respect for international agreements.
Dar called for the restoration and strengthening of technical engagement, transparency and water-data sharing between Pakistan and India in accordance with the Treaty. He also stressed the importance of fully utilizing the Treaty’s established mechanisms for resolving questions, differences and disputes.
Pakistan’s approach, according to Deputy PM, is based on law over unilateralism, dialogue over confrontation and cooperation over coercion. He underlined the immense importance of the Indus Basin to Pakistan’s population, agriculture, food security, energy production, livelihoods and economic development. Water security, he noted, is therefore directly connected with Pakistan’s economic, food and national security.
Washington dialogue featured three substantive sessions examining the Treaty’s legal foundations and dispute-resolution mechanisms, the growing challenges posed by climate change and water stress, and the role of hydro-diplomacy in promoting regional peace and stability.
The sessions were moderated by distinguished experts including Michael Kugelman, Director of the South Asia Program at the Atlantic Council; Jon F. Danilowicz, Senior Fellow on South Asia at the Atlantic Council; and Adil Najam, Dean Emeritus and Professor of International Relations at Boston University.
Panelists highlighted the historic role of the Indus Waters Treaty as an effective conflict-management framework that has helped insulate water cooperation from broader political tensions between Pakistan and India.
The discussion also drew attention to the increasing importance of water diplomacy in an era of climate change, population growth and mounting pressure on water resources.
Participants stressed that turning shared water resources into an instrument of political competition could place additional pressure on regional stability. They emphasized instead the value of established institutions, treaty obligations and peaceful mechanisms for resolving differences.
Highlighting Pakistan’s peaceful orientation and its commitment to diplomatic solutions, Ambassador Sheikh summarized the challenge facing the Treaty in a pointed observation: “There is no crisis of content in Indus Waters Treaty …. there is a crisis of intent in implementation.”
Ambassador’s message reinforced Pakistan’s argument that the existing Treaty framework already provides mechanisms for engagement and dispute resolution, making sustained communication and political will essential. Policy Dialogue concluded with broad recognition of the need for continued dialogue, respect for the Treaty’s framework and sustained regional engagement.
Pakistan’s Washington initiative presented strong diplomatic message to the international community: the country remains committed to international law, peaceful dispute resolution, constructive engagement and responsible hydro-diplomacy.
