Addressing a joint press conference with Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar insisted that the Indus Waters Treaty remained legally binding and could not be suspended, revoked or amended unilaterally.
Pakistan issued yet another warning in the escalating water dispute with India, with Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik declaring that Islamabad would “cut off those hands” that sought to claim Islamabad’s share under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). His comments land as tensions over the decades-old water-sharing pact continued to deepen following New Delhi’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance after the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.
Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik accused India of trying to control its water supply and warned of consequences if Islamabad’s water rights were threatened.
“There is a tap being controlled by the prime minister of a neighbouring country. He says he will not let even a drop of water flow into Pakistan,” Malik said, according to Dawn.
He then issued the strongest warning of the press conference.
“We well cut off those hands who lay claim to our share of water.”
His comments were reported by Pakistani broadcaster 24NewsHD and several other news outlets. Clips of his remarks also surfaced online. However, their authenticity could not be independently verified.
Malik also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to protecting its share of water under the treaty and said India would not be allowed to obstruct water flows allocated to Pakistan.
PAKISTAN DEFENDS INDUS TREATY
Addressing the press conference, the Pakistani Information Minister insisted that the Indus Waters Treaty remained legally binding and could not be suspended, revoked or amended unilaterally.
Tarar said Pakistan’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty had received international backing and maintained that India’s move to suspend the agreement had found little support globally.
“Indus Treaty is still in force as India’s stance has not been accepted at any platform,” Tarar said.
Tarar said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir had repeatedly declared that “water is our lifeline, as well as our red line.”
According to Dawn, Tarar argued that Pakistan’s rights under the treaty remained protected by international law.
“Our people have a right to water through a legally enforceable treaty that was accepted by both countries, that remains implemented today,” he said.
He also claimed that Pakistan’s narrative on the treaty had gained recognition internationally and reiterated that the agreement could neither be unilaterally revoked nor amended.
The Pakistani ministers announced that Islamabad would host what they described as the first international seminar on the Indus Waters Treaty in Islamabad on Tuesday. Tarar said legal experts, water specialists and foreign delegates had already arrived in Pakistan to attend the conference.
He said the seminar would examine Pakistan’s legal rights under the treaty and discuss its technical and legal aspects in detail.
INDUS TREATY DISPUTE DEEPENS
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, governs the sharing of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan. Under the agreement, India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — while Pakistan receives most of the waters of the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
The agreement survived wars and decades of tensions before coming under fresh strain after India placed the treaty in abeyance following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
New Delhi blamed Pakistan-backed terrorists for the attack and announced that the treaty would remain in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ended support for cross-border terrorism. Islamabad rejected the allegations.
Pakistan has repeatedly challenged India’s decision and warned against any attempt to alter cross-border water flows.
Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also warned that Pakistan could resort to military action if its water security came under threat.
“The moment we feel that our national security, and water is part of our national security, is being threatened, we will go to war against India. Definitely,” Asif told ARY News.
INDIA CALLS TREATY OUTDATED
India has defended its decision, arguing that the treaty no longer reflects present-day realities.
Addressing the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, India’s First Secretary to the UN, Anupama Singh, said it was unreasonable for a country accused of sponsoring terrorism to expect continued cooperation under the treaty.
“Our position on the Indus Water Treaty is well known. It defies logic that a state which exports terror as an instrument of policy continues to demand the privileges of cooperation predicated on goodwill and friendship,” she said.
Calling the agreement outdated, Singh added: “A treaty negotiated in 1960 cannot be treated as a perpetual entitlement which is insulated from accountability, detached from present-day realities and untouched by the profound changes of the past six decades.”
She also urged Pakistan to focus on its own internal challenges instead of raising bilateral disputes at international forums.
India has consistently maintained that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India” and has accused Pakistan of using international platforms to divert attention from terrorism and its domestic challenges.
