Pakistan minister warns India could 'weaponise' Indus Water Treaty, fears conflict

Pakistan minister Ahsan Iqbal said India could use the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) as a weapon and hoped “better sense” would prevail between the two neighbours, allowing them to exercise restraint and avoid another war over water.

"We (Pakistan) now face this threat that they (India) can use water as a weapon to deny Pakistan when it needs it for its crops and release it when we don't need it... We are using all diplomatic means to make sure that we don't have future wars on water because we have already seen lots of wars," Iqbal told the Asia Society.

He highlighted that the Indus Water Treaty "had remained ‘untouchable’ for nearly seven decades after it was signed in 1960 but India has 'unilaterally' kept it in abeyance."


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"...Indus Water Treaty that has stood the test of time for the last 70 years. India and Pakistan fought several wars, but it (IWT) was considered untouchable because it is an international agreement, and this time around the Indian government has unilaterally held it in abeyance... first time probably water has been weaponised in history," the minister added.

Iqbal described South Asia as the "least integrated" region in the world and said the countries should instead focus on addressing issues related to development, poverty, illiteracy and the youth "bulge."

"So we hope that there is better sense in our neighbour's (India) mind and we don't see that water is weaponised and we go to another conflict with India over water because Pakistan cannot surrender at any cost the future of its 250 million people for its food security and right of water. If we let it happen, then every state that is on the lower side of water supply would be hostage to any country that controls the rivers," he said.

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The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader's comments came days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned India of a "direct response" for putting the IWT in abeyance.

"India proved itself an enemy of peace by unilaterally and illegally suspending the Indus Waters Treaty. I declare in clear terms that every single drop of Pakistan's water is our red line. If India does not come to its senses, it will be responded to directly," Sharif said on the eve of Pakistan's Independence Day.The Pahalgam terror attack in April last year prompted the Indian government to put the treaty in abeyance. Pakistani leaders have since repeatedly called water their "red line" and described the move as an "act of war."