Weaponizing Water: India Halts Indus Treaty Amid Cross-Border Crisis
News Desk
Islamabad: In an unprecedented move, India has suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, setting off alarm bells across South Asia amid rising fears of regional instability and a looming humanitarian crisis.
The suspension, triggered by a deadly attack that claimed 26 lives—including one Nepali national—has prompted a series of escalatory actions from New Delhi that threaten to upend longstanding diplomatic and people-to-people ties.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 with World Bank mediation, has long been hailed as a rare instance of sustained cooperation between India and Pakistan despite three wars and ongoing hostility.
Its abrupt suspension marks a turning point in the bilateral relationship, with potential ripple effects on water security for millions living downstream in Pakistan.
Civilians Caught in Crossfire
Amid this diplomatic escalation, India has ordered all Pakistani nationals to leave within 48 hours, shuttered the Attari-Wagah border crossing, and suspended all visa services for Pakistani citizens, including diplomatic and military personnel. Several Pakistani diplomats have been declared persona non grata, while India is also withdrawing its own military attaches from Islamabad.
Observers warn that these measures could disproportionately affect ordinary civilians, students, medical patients, and divided families—many of whom have relied on limited cross-border arrangements for travel, healthcare, and education.
“This will hit the most vulnerable the hardest,” said a human rights advocate based in Lahore. “We’ve seen this before: ordinary people paying the price for political decisions beyond their control.”
Water Weaponization
India’s move to put the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance” until Pakistan “irrevocably abjures cross-border terrorism” is seen by many analysts as the clearest sign yet of India’s willingness to weaponize water in its strategic calculus—a trend that could further strain already limited cooperation on climate adaptation and resource management in the region.
“This is not just a bilateral issue anymore,” said a South Asian security analyst. “Water security, food systems, and regional stability are all interconnected. The breakdown of this treaty could destabilize more than just India-Pakistan ties—it could fracture the environmental equilibrium of South Asia.”
SAARC in Jeopardy
The move also casts a shadow over regional cooperation mechanisms such as SAARC, with India revoking visa privileges under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for all Pakistani nationals. The symbolic closure of this channel further dims prospects for any meaningful regional dialogue on trade, health, and climate resilience.
Calls for De-escalation
While the Indian government maintains that its actions are a necessary response to a “cross-border terror attack,” international observers and civil society groups across South Asia have urged both sides to exercise restraint and return to dialogue.
“The suspension of treaties and diplomatic expulsions should not become the norm in addressing terrorism,” said a former South Asian envoy. “Dialogue, transparency, and international mediation are needed now more than ever.”
As South Asia braces for the fallout of this diplomatic rupture, questions remain over how long the treaty suspension will last—and what it means for regional peace, water-sharing, and civilian lives straddling one of the world’s most volatile borders.
