Overview
- On Aug. 28, 2026 Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar told a Washington seminar that any attempt to deprive Pakistan of waters allocated under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty would have "profound consequences" for regional peace and security.
- Dar said the treaty remains valid, binding and fully operative and argued it contains no clause allowing either party to unilaterally suspend obligations, a position Pakistan has maintained since India placed treaty operations in abeyance in April 2025.
- Pakistan has continued to use the treaty’s built‑in mechanisms, including the Permanent Indus Commission, Neutral Expert processes and Court of Arbitration cases over Kishenganga and Ratle, to press its claims rather than resort to unilateral measures.
- Dar pressed for restored technical engagement and transparent data sharing on river flows and projects, linking water cooperation to food, energy and economic security for more than 250 million Pakistanis and to climate pressures such as glacial retreat and erratic rainfall.
- Islamabad is broadening diplomatic outreach to frame the dispute as an international law and treaty‑sanctity issue, seeking support from partners such as the United Kingdom and audiences in Washington while warning that using rivers as leverage would set a dangerous global precedent.