WASHINGTON: Pakistan should continue to uphold the Indus Waters Treaty despite ongoing political and security tensions with India, participants at a policy dialogue in Washington said, warning that disputes between the two nuclear-armed neighbours should not be allowed to undermine a decades-old framework for managing shared water resources.
They rejected the argument that the treaty could remain in abeyance until regional violence ends, stressing that its legal and institutional provisions should continue to guide management of the Indus river system.
The dialogue, titled “The Indus Waters Treaty: South Asian Security at Crossroads,” was hosted by the Pakistan Embassy and brought together diplomats, academics, legal experts, water specialists and representatives of international organisations.
He called for an active diplomatic strategy and urged Pakistan to continue participating in the treaty’s dispute-resolution mechanisms, even if India declined to engage.
Akram also suggested exploring an impartial international mechanism, including a possible role for the United Nations, while recommending consultations with China.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh said Islamabad remained committed to dialogue, diplomacy and peaceful coexistence. He urged India to maintain engagement, noting that neighbouring countries could not simply be changed.
He later argued that the central problem was not the treaty’s substance but its implementation, describing the situation as a “crisis of intent” rather than a crisis of content.
He noted that the treaty had survived wars and repeated crises and warned against allowing the existing framework to collapse.
Calls Grow for Legal and Technical Engagement
In this sense, the participants focused on the importance of international law, established dispute-resolution mechanisms, technical engagement, transparency and data-sharing between Pakistan and India.
They also warned against turning water into an instrument of political or military pressure, given Pakistan’s heavy dependence on the Indus river system for its population and economy.
The potential nuclear dimension of the dispute was also discussed, with speakers cautioning that nuclear deterrence should not be assumed to eliminate the risk of escalation.
Meanwhile, PPP Vice President and Senate parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman called on India to fully comply with the Indus Waters Treaty.
She warned that politicising water resources could threaten regional stability and decades of bilateral water cooperation.
Rehman argued that India could not unilaterally suspend or reinterpret the treaty and said any change to an international agreement must follow established principles of international law.
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She maintained that Pakistan had the legal right to pursue the dispute through international forums and stressed that India’s water and hydropower projects could not be used to disregard agreed principles governing the shared river system.
