Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has been an instrument of regional peace and stability any attempt to deprive Pakistan of waters allocated to it under the IWT would have profound consequences for regional peace and security.
Speaking virtually at a seminar on “The Indus Waters Treaty: South Asian Security at the Crossroads,” organised by the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, Dar said “The Treaty contains no provision permitting either party to unilaterally suspend or place it in abeyance,” he said, adding that neither party could extinguish obligations under international law through a unilateral political declaration.
He said that Pakistan remained committed to peaceful settlement of issues but would take its water rights seriously.
“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,” Dar said.
He said the treaty, signed by Pakistan and India in 1960 after negotiations facilitated by the World Bank, established a legal framework for management of the Indus Basin.
The treaty also established the Permanent Indus Commission and mechanisms for resolving questions, differences and disputes through the commission, government-to-government engagement, a Neutral Expert and, where required, a Court of Arbitration.
He said shared water resources could not be weaponized or being used to exert political pressure.
He said recent arbitral proceedings had reinforced that treaty-based processes could not be defeated through non-participation or unilateral assertions, while recent awards had continued to clarify the substantive limits governing projects on the western rivers, he said.
