Pakistan preparing to challenge India's suspension of Indus Waters Treaty post Pahalgam terror attack

Pakistan is preparing international legal action over India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty after a terrorist attack on Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26.

Aqeel Malik, the Minister of State for Law and Justice, told Reuters late on Monday that Islamabad was working on plans for at least three different legal options, including raising the issue at the World Bank - the treaty's facilitator.

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It was also considering taking action at the Permanent Court of Arbitration or at the International Court of Justice in the Hague where it could allege that India has violated the 1960 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, he said.

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"Legal strategy consultations are almost complete," Malik said, adding the decision on which cases to pursue would be made "soon" and would likely include pursuing more than one avenue.

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India last week suspended the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 after the attack, saying it would last until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism".

India has said two of three assailants it has identified were from Pakistan. Islamabad has said "any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan ... will be considered as an act of war".

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Malik added that a fourth diplomatic option that Islamabad was considering was to raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council.

"All the options are on the table and we are pursuing all appropriate and competent forums to approach," he said.

"The treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally and cannot be held in abeyance, there is not (such a) provision within the treaty," said Malik.

Kushvinder Vohra, a recently retired head of India's Central Water Commission, said: "There are very limited options (for Pakistan) ... I can say that there are solid grounds for us to defend our (India's) action."

(With Reuters inputs)