The Indus Waters Treaty Survived Wars. Here's Why Khawaja Asif Says Water Could Trigger One Now

Published 22 June 2026 · local

The Indus Waters Treaty Survived Wars. Here's Why Khawaja Asif Says Water Could Trigger One Now Written By, Last Updated: June 22, 2026, 12:54 IST

The Indus Waters Treaty Survived Wars. Here's Why Khawaja Asif Says Water Could Trigger One Now Written By, Last Updated: June 22, 2026, 12:54 IST What India can do is progressively utilise a larger share of water that the treaty already permits it to use, while accelerating projects that had previously moved slowly Rapid Read Under the treaty, Pakistan received near-exclusive rights over the three western rivers---the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. India retained rights over the eastern rivers---Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. (AI-Generated Image) Pakistan is at it again. The country’s defence minister Khawaja Asif, in yet another attempt to needle India, has warned that Islamabad could resort to military action if it believes the country’s water security is under serious threat. The threat comes amid escalating tensions following New Delhi’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. “The moment we feel that our national security and water are being threatened, we will go to war against India. Definitely," Asif said, while speaking to ARY News. The statement has brought back attention to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) which, for more than six decades, was often described as one of the world’s most successful water-sharing agreements. It survived multiple India-Pakistan wars, military crises and prolonged diplomatic breakdowns. Even when bilateral relations collapsed, the treaty endured. ALSO READ | Facing Indus Waters Treaty Fallout, Bilawal Bhutto Threatens India In Pakistan Parliament: ‘We’ll Retaliate’ However, all that changed after the April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. In its aftermath, India announced that it was placing the treaty “in abeyance" until Pakistan took credible and irreversible action against cross-border terrorism. The decision marked the most serious challenge to the treaty since it was signed in 1960. The move has triggered a wider debate: What was the treaty designed to achieve? Why does India now consider it outdated? And what could the consequences be for Pakistan? A Treaty Born Out Of Partition The origins of the Indus Waters Treaty lie in the chaos of Partition. When British India was divided in 1947, the six rivers of the Indus basin suddenly flowed across two newly created countries.

While many of the rivers originated in India, large irrigation networks built during British rule were located in what became Pakistan. The problem surfaced almost immediately. In April 1948, India temporarily stopped water flows from some canals serving Pakistan, highlighting how vulnerable the new country was to upstream decisions. The dispute soon escalated into one of the first major India-Pakistan disagreements after Partition. ALSO READ | India Launches Two Major Chenab Projects Amid Indus Treaty Freeze | Exclusive The negotiations stretched for years before the World Bank stepped in as a mediator. The eventual solution involved dividing the river system rather than sharing individual rivers. This became the foundation of the treaty signed by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President Ayub Khan in Karachi on September 19, 1960. How The Treaty Works The treaty divided the six rivers of the Indus basin into two groups. Pakistan received near-exclusive rights over the three western rivers—the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. India retained rights over the eastern rivers—Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. This allocation was unusually generous from an upstream perspective. Various official and academic assessments note that nearly 80 per cent of the basin’s waters were effectively assigned to Pakistan, while India received control over the eastern rivers. India was allowed limited use of the western rivers for domestic consumption, irrigation and run-of-the-river hydropower projects, but significant restrictions were placed on storage and diversion. The arrangement ensured predictable water flows to Pakistan’s vast agricultural economy, particularly in Punjab and Sindh, where millions of farmers depend on irrigation from the Indus system. Why The Treaty Was Considered Exceptional The treaty’s reputation rests largely on its durability. It survived the wars of 1965, 1971 and 1999, as well as decades of diplomatic hostility. Even after major terrorist attacks such as Mumbai in 2008 and Pulwama in 2019, neither side formally abandoned the agreement. The treaty also created a permanent institutional mechanism through the Permanent Indus Commission, allowing technical discussions to continue even when political dialogue had broken down. Why India Began Seeking Changes India’s dissatisfaction with the treaty began much before the Pahalgam attack.