India's recent hybrid war against Pakistan began not with tanks or missiles, but with a chilling threat - shut off the water. In the wake of the deadly attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam, New Delhi's first line of action was not investigation or diplomacy — it was retribution through water. India has since held the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, in a unilateral and illegal move that poses a grave threat to regional stability and an existential danger to Pakistan.

This isn't merely a technical dispute over hydro projects. This is a hostile act, tantamount to economic terrorism and, by many standards, an act of war. India is weaponising water to pressure Pakistan, jeopardising the lives of millions who depend on the Indus River system for drinking, farming and economic survival.

The IWT, signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan with the World Bank acting as a guarantor, has long been regarded as one of the most successful water-sharing agreements in the world. Its origins lie in the tense post-Partition period, when the 1948 stoppage of canal waters by India exposed the urgent need for a formal and equitable framework for water distribution.

In response to this crisis, and with the mediation of the World Bank, both countries negotiated and agreed upon the IWT — a landmark agreement that provided a durable and structured mechanism for cooperation over the vital Indus River system.

For over six decades, the treaty withstood the test of time — even surviving full-scale wars between the two countries. Pakistan honoured its obligations under the treaty. However, in recent........

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