India and Pakistan have intensified their dispute over the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), with both countries reaffirming opposing positions on the agreement. India says the treaty will remain suspended until Pakistan takes credible action against terrorism, while Pakistan insists the pact remains legally binding and warns that any disruption to shared water resources could threaten regional stability and its national security.
Pakistan has stepped up its criticism of India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance following the April 2025 militant attack in Pahalgam, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Islamabad denies any involvement. On 30 June, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar warned that undermining the treaty could weaken the international legal order, while Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described access to Indus waters as vital for Pakistan’s 240 million people. Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also called for an international convention against the “weaponisation of waterways.” Earlier in June, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned that Pakistan could respond if its water security were seriously threatened.
India has maintained that the treaty cannot function normally while cross-border terrorism continues. The government says it will keep the agreement suspended until Pakistan takes what it describes as “credible and irreversible” action against terrorism. New Delhi also rejected Pakistan’s warnings, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal accusing Islamabad of using “fabricated claims” to distract from its domestic problems. Water Resources Minister C. R. Patil said India aims to fully utilise its allocated share of Indus waters within the next one-and-a-half to two years and ensure that no water allocated to India flows into Pakistan.
China has not officially criticised India over the treaty but has continued water-related cooperation with Pakistan. During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China in May 2026, both countries expressed willingness to expand cooperation on water resources. While some Chinese scholars have criticised India’s decision and Pakistani media have highlighted those remarks, Beijing has avoided making direct official statements against New Delhi on the issue.
The Indus Waters Treaty has long been regarded as one of the few stable agreements between India and Pakistan despite decades of political and military tensions. The latest dispute has raised concerns that water security could become another major source of confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
If the current positions remain unchanged, tensions over the treaty are likely to persist. India is expected to continue efforts to maximise its use of allocated waters, while Pakistan is likely to increase diplomatic pressure by framing the dispute as an issue of international law and regional security.
