Stories
Pakistan Raises Indus Waters Treaty Issue at UNHRC: Will India Be Forced to Release Water?
- •Pakistan raised the Indus Waters dispute at the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
- •Pakistani diplomat Adeel Mumtaz Khokhar accused India of weaponizing water and using the suspended Indus Waters Treaty as a political pressure tactic.
- •Pakistan claimed success in retaining cross-border water cooperation mentions in a resolution on safe drinking water presented by Germany and Spain.
- •UNHRC resolutions are non-binding and carry only moral-political pressure, meaning India is not legally forced to comply with them.
- •India maintains that the Indus Waters Treaty remains suspended following the 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack until Pakistan halts its support for terrorism.
Key Questions Answered
Pakistan raised the dispute after its First Secretary, Adeel Mumtaz Khokhar, successfully managed to get a mention of cross-border water cooperation included in a resolution on safe drinking water and sanitation presented by Germany and Spain at the UNHRC. Pakistan used this opportunity to accuse India of weaponizing water by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.
No, India will not be legally forced to release water because UNHRC resolutions are non-binding recommendations that carry only moral-political pressure rather than legal force. Furthermore, the Indus Waters Treaty is a bilateral agreement governed by its own arbitration mechanism rather than the UNHRC.
India placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed 26 lives, maintaining that the treaty will remain suspended until Pakistan stops supporting cross-border terrorism.
