Indian attempts to weaponize water threat to Pakistan’s food security: Dar

Foreign Minister rules out compromise on country’s water rights: Declares stopping or diverting water will amount to war crimes: Delhi’s avoidance of conflict resolution is violation of international law: Shows serious concern over variations in Chenab River water flow

Published: 11:33 AM, 19 Dec, 2025
Featured News, South Asia
Indian attempts to weaponize water threat to Pakistan’s food security: Dar
Caption: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar addressing Diplomatic Corps on India’s persistent material breaches of the Indus Waters Treaty.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has said that Indian attempts to weaponize water threaten peace and stability in South Asia, which are also a threat to Pakistan’s food security, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Ishaq Dar held an urgent briefing for foreign diplomats in Islamabad on Friday, during which the Foreign Minister maintained that India has consistently attempted to undermine the Indus Waters Treaty in a systemic manner 

The foreign minister said “We witnessed in April this year India’s unilateral abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty … But what we are witnessing now is material breaches by India that strike at the heart of the Indus Waters Treaty with escalating consequences both for regional stability and sanctity of international law.”
On Thursday, the Pakistan Foreign Office said it had sought a clarification from India via a letter over a sudden variation in the Chenab River’s water flow.

Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan will not compromise on its water rights as Indian actions posed a serious threat to peace and stability in South Asia.

He made it crystal clear that stopping or diverting water will amount to war crimes. “India’s recent move is a clear example of using water as a weapon,” he added.

India’s avoidance of conflict resolution is a violation of international law, the minister said and added “We have observed unusual, abrupt variations in the flow of the Chenab River twice this year. These were observed from April 30 to May 21 and Dec 7 to Dec 15. These variations in water flow are of extreme concern to Pakistan as they point to the unilateral release of water by India into the Chenab River. India has released this water without any prior notification or any data or information sharing with Pakistan as required under the treaty.”

Also Read: India’s unannounced water discharge threatens regional stability: Pakistan

Dar said “India’s manipulation of water has prompted our Indus water commissioner to write a letter to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification on the matter as provided in the Indus Waters Treaty.”

He further said that India’s most recent action clearly exemplifies the weaponization of water to which Pakistan has been consistently drawing attention of the international community. “India’s manipulation of water at a critical time of our agricultural cycle directly threatens the life and livelihood as well as the food and economic security of our citizens,” he stressed.

Ishaq Dar said Pakistan expected India to respond to the queries raised by the country’s Indus water commissioner, refrain from any unilateral manipulation of river flows, and fulfil all its obligations in letter and spirit under the Indus Waters Treaty provisions. “Recent violations of the treaty by India are just one example. India has consistently attempted to undermine the treaty in a systemic manner,” he added.

The minister said India‘s construction of hydropower projects such as Kishenganga and Ratle involved design features that violated the treaty’s technical specifications. “India continues to build illegal dams in sheer disregard of the treaty obligations to impose fait accompli. With the building of dams, Indian capacity to store and manipulate water is also increasing which endangers Pakistan’s security, economy, and the livelihood of 240 million people,” he elaborated.

Dar said India had halted sharing information, hydrological data, and joint oversight required by the treaty, which had exposed Pakistan to floods and droughts. “Such illegal and irresponsible Indian actions have all the potential to trigger a humanitarian crisis in Pakistan. “If India is allowed to violate the treaty and obligations under the treaty with impunity, we are setting a very dangerous precedent,” he added.

Dar further said that India was also subverting the treaty’s dispute resolution mechanism by refusing to participate in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and neutral expert proceedings. “India is pursuing a deliberate strategy to sabotage a well-established arbitration process under the treaty provisions. Pakistan would like to reiterate that Indus Waters Treaty is a binding legal instrument that has made an invaluable contribution to the peace and stability of South Asia,” he added.

The foreign minister said violating the treaty threatened the inviolability of international treaties and also posed serious threats to regional peace and security. He noted that PCA had recently reaffirmed the continued validity of the treaty and its dispute resolution mechanisms. “These rulings leave no ambiguity that the Indus Waters Treaty is alive and its provisions remain binding on the parties,” he maintained.

Ishaq Dar called on the international community to reject “Indian impunity”. He said: “We also take note in this regard of the communication by several UN special procedures and mandate holders’ address to India in which serious legal human rights and humanitarian concerns have been expressed regarding Indian illegal actions pertaining to the Indus Water Treaty”. 

The minister said that the communication was made public on December 15. The minister said, “As per the report, on June 21, India’s home minister declared that India would never restore the treaty and would instead divert to India’s Rajasthan via a new canal. He continued that on April 21, “in the same report, Pakistan’s national security committee has declared that any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water to Pakistan under the treaty will be considered as an act of war”.

According to the report, India’s actions following the Pahalgam attack had violated “rights to life and security of persons,” Dar said, as he read from the document.

It noted that any action taken to disrupt the flow of water to Pakistan “risked violating the rights to work, livelihood and adequate standard of living, including the rights to water, food and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and development”.

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