Asif Mahmood 

A prominent American journal The National Interest has aptly backed Pakistan’s stance on India’s recent moves concerning the Indus Waters Treaty, highlighting that any unilateral suspension of the agreement represents a serious and destabilising shift in South Asia’s water dynamics. The analysis warns that such actions risk inflaming regional tensions and undermining a treaty that has long provided a stable framework for cooperation between the two neighbours. The report points to specific Indian projects, including the Dulhasti Stage II initiative, as clear violations of treaty obligations. It also draws attention to India’s deliberate withholding of river data, which constitutes a breach of international legal norms. The commentary stresses that treating water as a strategic tool rather than a shared resource could escalate existing water scarcity into a full-blown humanitarian crisis affecting millions across the region. Importantly, the publication recalls that an international arbitral body has already ruled that India cannot legally suspend the treaty on its own. Beyond the legal arguments, the piece underscores the treaty’s vital role in ensuring food security for millions of people in South Asia. Weakening it would jeopardise livelihoods, threaten agriculture, and imperil the survival of communities that depend on the Indus waters for their daily sustenance. Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) explicitly states that no bilateral agreement can be unilaterally suspended. However, regardless of any bilateral agreement, India does not have the legal authority to block water to Pakistan. Let’s consider, for a moment, the hypothetical scenario where the Indus Water Treaty never existed. Does this imply that India possesses proprietary rights over the waters that flow into Pakistan? The answer is NO. Even in the absence of the IWT, India would not have held exclusive control over water resources, as international law clearly dictates the equitable sharing of trans boundary waters. The water-sharing between India and Pakistan is not exclusively governed by the Indus Waters Treaty. While the treaty serves as a significant framework intended to facilitate the amicable and bilateral resolution of water disputes, it does not constitute the sole legal instrument regulating water sharing between the two nations. The water resources cannot be claimed solely based on geographical positioning as an upper riparian state. International law provides a framework for regulating water sharing between upper and lower riparian states, ensuring that the rights and needs of all parties are taken into account. Various........

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