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Islamabad: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that lasting peace between Pakistan and India cannot be achieved without the restoration and implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), stressing that water security is inseparable from regional peace, national security and the survival of millions of people.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, addressing an international seminar on the Indus Waters Treaty at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad, Bilawal said water is not merely a geographical issue but one directly linked to food security, livelihoods, the future of nations and the lives of millions of people. He said water resources have emerged as a central issue in global politics and security.<\/p>\n
Drawing a comparison with the Strait of Hormuz, he said just as any disruption to the strategic waterway affects the global economy, the waters of the Indus River are vital to Pakistan’s survival. He described the Indus Basin as a strategic lifeline and warned that using sea lanes or shared water resources as a weapon poses a grave threat to regional and global peace.<\/p>\n
Bilawal said sustainable peace between Pakistan and India is not possible without the Indus Waters Treaty. He said India’s suspension of the treaty amounts to the “weaponization of water” against Pakistan, arguing that the IWT is an international settlement brokered by the World Bank and cannot be unilaterally suspended. He maintained that Pakistan’s rights over the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers are recognized under international agreements and that the issue should be treated as a matter of national security rather than merely a technical dispute.<\/p>\n
He said Pakistan had honoured the terms of the ceasefire, while adding that India had failed to fulfil all of its commitments. Linking water disputes with broader India-Pakistan tensions, he warned that any attempt to restrict river flows or alter water infrastructure in a manner affecting downstream access would amount to strategic escalation and could push South Asia towards a major crisis.<\/p>\n
Describing the Indus River as the lifeline of millions of people and the cornerstone of Pakistan’s agriculture and economy, Bilawal said Pakistan would respond to any attempt to undermine its water rights. He emphasized that while Pakistan remains committed to peace, it will not compromise on the fundamental rights of its people or its water interests. He said the entire nation stands united in safeguarding Pakistan’s water rights and asserted that using water as a political tool or weapon is contrary to international law and treaty obligations.<\/p>\n
Bilawal stressed that Pakistan must avoid any policy that concedes India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. He said the country should not assume the treaty is dead or adjust its policies in a way that legitimizes India’s actions. At the same time, he called for strengthening Pakistan’s water security by continuing approved water infrastructure projects, constructing dams, improving irrigation efficiency and adopting modern water management systems, including drip irrigation, groundwater regulation, water recycling, urban water conservation, desalination and exploring regional water cooperation with Central Asia.<\/p>\n
He said Pakistan should distinguish between building national resilience and accepting what he termed “diplomatic surrender” to external pressure. He urged the government to respond through political, legal, diplomatic and strategic means at every stage of any Indian water infrastructure project that could affect Pakistan’s water share.<\/p>\n
Calling for greater international engagement, Bilawal urged the full internationalization of the dispute through the United Nations, the World Bank, international courts and global diplomatic forums. He also advocated the creation of a new international convention to prevent the weaponization of transboundary waterways, saying water access should be recognized as a fundamental human survival and security issue and that coercive use of shared rivers is unacceptable under international law.<\/p>\n
Concluding his address, Bilawal said the Indus River is non-negotiable and central to Pakistan’s national survival and sovereignty. He warned that weaponization or control of transboundary rivers could become a new form of strategic coercion in the 21st century, reiterating that lasting regional stability depends on protecting treaty-based water rights and preventing the use of shared water resources as instruments of pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that lasting peace between Pakistan and India cannot be achieved without the restoration and implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), stressing that water security is inseparable from regional peace, national security and the survival of millions of people. According to Kashmir Media Service, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":204183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t