Pakistan warns India water restriction could be treated as act of war

Pakistan has warned that any attempt by India to restrict the flow of Indus waters could have serious consequences and may be viewed as an act of war. The warning came after India's water resources minister said New Delhi was working to ensure that "not a single drop" of water reaches Pakistan in the coming years. The exchange marks a sharp escalation in rhetoric around the Indus Waters Treaty, which India has said it has kept in abeyance.

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At a weekly briefing in Islamabad, foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan was responding to the Indian minister's remarks on the treaty. He said the comments suggested an effort to significantly reduce or stop water supplies that are essential for the livelihood, agriculture and well-being of more than 250 million Pakistanis. Andrabi said such a move would be highly irresponsible and would violate international norms governing shared rivers as well as bilateral agreements between the two countries.

Andrabi said Pakistan rejected the use of water as a political instrument or a means of coercion. He said any disruption to vital water resources could threaten regional peace and security, and that responsibility for any resulting instability would rest with India. He also said Pakistan's rights over its water resources were non-negotiable.

According to his remarks, Islamabad would defend those rights through diplomatic, political, legal and economic avenues available under international law and the UN Charter. The dispute matters because the Indus system is central to Pakistan's water supply and agricultural economy. The treaty has long been one of the few formal mechanisms governing the sharing of river waters between the two countries, both of which have repeatedly accused each other of undermining trust in the relationship.

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Any move to alter flows would therefore carry implications beyond the immediate bilateral row, including for food security, domestic politics and wider regional stability. The latest exchange follows India's stated move to keep the treaty in abeyance, which has become a focal point in the broader deterioration in ties. In his comments, the Indian minister said the government was acting under directions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that Home Minister Amit Shah was personally monitoring the matter.

He said the work was proceeding in a time-bound manner and that the flow of Indus water to Pakistan would stop, although he also referred to the treaty as still standing while being kept in abeyance. What remains unclear is how far India intends to go in practical terms and whether any immediate changes to water flows are under way. Pakistan has signalled that it will pursue the issue through multiple channels, but no specific next step was detailed in the remarks provided.

The key point to watch is whether the rhetoric is followed by operational measures, and whether either side seeks to de-escalate or harden its position further.

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