*Originally published in 2025 and preserved as part of our archive project.Get E-International Relations delivered directly to your inbox, free of charge. As you sign up, consider becoming a paid subscriber to support our work.

Bangladesh’s push for a longer, more predictable Ganges Water Treaty has brought India’s upstream tactics back into sharp focus. In a region where water scarcity and climate stress are escalating, control over transboundary rivers is no longer just a matter of resource management—it’s a lever of geopolitical influence. The recent experiences of Bangladesh and Pakistan reveal how India’s hydrological dominance can be used to sideline treaty norms, assert territorial claims, and reshape regional diplomacy. What were once shared lifelines are now contested flows in South Asia’s shifting power dynamics. That said, citing the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir as sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan, India suspended a 65-year-old water-sharing treaty between the two countries.

The suspension of the agreement presents a serious threat to Pakistan’s economy, where agriculture makes up nearly a quarter of the GDP. Much of the country’s irrigation, hydropower, electricity supply, and overall development critically depend on the Indus River basin. When the monsoons arrived, the devastating floods killed over 900 and affected four million. Pakistani officials have directly blamed India for manipulating water flows from upstream rivers, alleging that deliberate releases from Indian dams exacerbated the monsoon rains and turned a seasonal weather event into a catastrophic deluge that killed hundreds. However, hydrology and climate experts urge a focus on the broader picture, noting that while water politics may play a role, the unprecedented scale of the disaster is fundamentally........

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