Indus Waters Treaty: Pakistan minister says life and livelihood directly threatened by 'India’s manipulation'

India is consistently attempting to undermine the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar alleged on Friday, while claiming the current material breaches strike at the heart of the pact. "India’s manipulation of water at a critical time of the agricultural cycle directly threatens the life and livelihood, as well as the food and economic security, of Pakistani citizens," he said. The consequences of such acts will not be ideal for regional stability, said Ishaq Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister of the country.

A day after the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the 1960-vintage Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. He warned that the suspension of water will be considered an act of war.

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He was speaking to the media a day after Pakistan sought clarification from India regarding variations in the flow of the Chenab River. "We witnessed in April this year India's unilateral abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty. But what we are witnessing now are material breaches by India that strike at the heart of the Indus Waters Treaty, with escalating consequences both for regional stability and the sanctity of international law," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

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From 30 April to 21 May, and from 7 December to 15 December, Pakistan observed unusual, abrupt variations in the flow of the Chenab River twice, Dawn reported him as saying during an urgent media briefing for the diplomatic corps in Islamabad. “These variations in water flow are of extreme concern to Pakistan as they point to the unilateral release of water by India into the Chenab River. India has released this water without any prior notification or any data or information sharing with Pakistan as required under the treaty,” he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani media outlet.

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The minister said India had halted the sharing of information, hydrological data, and joint oversight required by the treaty, which had exposed Pakistan to floods and droughts. “Such illegal and irresponsible Indian conduct has all the potential to trigger a humanitarian crisis in Pakistan," he said, before accusing India of "pursuing a deliberate strategy to sabotage a well-established arbitration process under the treaty provisions."

Dar reportedly mentioned that India's manipulation of water has prompted Pakistan's Indus Commissioner to write a letter to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification on the matter. He also alleged that the manipulation of Indus basin waters at a critical time of the agricultural cycle directly threatens life and livelihood in Pakistan.

The World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty has governed the distribution and use of the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960.