The transboundary agreement was ‘suspended’ by the Indian government last year after the Pahalgam attack
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday said the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could not be revoked unilaterally as Pakistan prepared to present the treaty’s legal and technical aspects to experts at the IWT 2026 seminar, scheduled to be held in Islamabad on Tuesday (tomorrow).
“Water security is important to Pakistan,” the information minister stressed and added that the country retains legal and environmental rights over the contractually bound waterway shared with the eastern neighbour.
For over six decades, India and Pakistan have amicably managed the Indus River system through the IWT transboundary water-sharing agreement signed on September 19, 1960. Last year in April, India suspended the treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
Tarar, during a joint press conference with Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik, highlighted that the World Bank-brokered treaty included a detailed framework for resolving any outstanding issues.
Read: Here’s what India’s suspension of Indus Waters Treaty means for Pakistan
He reminded the Modi-led government that water was not just the country’s lifeline; it was also the country’s “red line”.
The minister said the government invited a host of water and legal experts from around the world to inculcate awareness about the rights of Pakistan over the Indus River against the backdrop of the agreement, saying a conference has been organised on Tuesday to supplement the cause.
Everyone recognises the narrative of Pakistan, the information minister outlined.
Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr Musadik Malik said the issue of unilateral suspension had been raised on several international forums, including the United Nations.
“Pakistan’s standpoint was upheld by the International Arbitration Courts,” Malik underscored during the presser.