NEW YORK: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday warned at the 81st United Nations General Assembly that any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the waters of the Indus River system would be treated as an “act of war”.
Sharif described the shared waters of the Indus system as the “lifeblood” of Pakistan and the wider region and criticised India’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. He claimed the move had “no legal basis whatsoever” and said Pakistan considered the 1960 treaty to remain valid, binding and operative.
“Water must never be weaponised. Rivers should nourish nations, not divide them,” Sharif said, before warning that any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the waters would be treated as an act of war.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed by India and Pakistan in 1960, governs the utilisation of the waters of the Indus river system. India placed the treaty in abeyance in April 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack. New Delhi has maintained that the arrangement will remain in abeyance until Pakistan verifiably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
Sharif also claimed that Pakistan’s position on the treaty had received support from UN experts and the Court of Arbitration. Those assertions form part of Pakistan’s stated position on the dispute; the legal and procedural issues surrounding the treaty and arbitration remain contested between the two countries.
The warning came as India-Pakistan tensions over the Indus waters remained a prominent issue in Sharif’s UN address. The Pakistani Prime Minister also raised the Kashmir issue and called for what he described as a “just and fair” resolution.
