Pakistan says Indus Waters Treaty fully binding, warns India against violations

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: Pakistan has issued a formal response to India’s recent communications on the Indus Waters Treaty, adding that the landmark 1960 water-sharing accord remains fully operational and legally binding on both nations.

“The treaty is in full effect and binding on both parties,” Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said on Wednesday. “There is no provision in the agreement that allows for its suspension.”

India suspended the treaty immediately after the Pahalgam attack in held Kashmir in April. “Pakistan has made it clear that any breach of the treaty will not be tolerated,” Khan said, adding that the country would defend its rights at every appropriate forum.

The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, governs the distribution of water from the Indus River system between India and Pakistan. Despite wars and longstanding political tensions, it has been hailed as one of the most durable water-sharing agreements in the world.

Asked whether the World Bank would intervene, World Bank President Ajay Banga said the institution had no active role beyond its defined responsibilities under the treaty.

“The treaty is not suspended. It’s technically in ‘abeyance’ -- that’s the term the Indian government used,” Banga told foreign news outlet CNBC-TV18 in an interview aired on the network’s ‘Global Dialogues’ weekend programme on May 11. “There is no provision in the treaty to allow for suspension. The way it was drawn up, it either remains in place or is replaced by another -- and that requires both countries to agree.”

He clarified the World Bank’s limited mandate. “Our role is that of a facilitator, not a decision-maker. If the parties disagree, we help initiate a process to appoint a neutral expert or arbitrator. We do not choose the outcome; we just fund the mechanism through a trust established when the treaty was created.”

Banga added that neither country has formally approached the Bank in this matter. “There’s been a lot of speculation in the media about the World Bank’s role, but that’s all unfounded. The treaty is between two sovereign nations. It is their decision whether to amend or continue it.”