India’s recent provocative announcement to completely halt water flows into Pakistan represents a reckless and dangerous act of transboundary water weaponization, which gravely endangers regional peace and defies fundamental international obligations.
This was stated by Prof Cheng Xizhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Charhar Institute, a non-governmental Chinese think-tank on diplomacy and international studies based in Beijing.
He said that as a downstream nation, Pakistan’s ecological survival, agricultural production and economic development are entirely dependent on the Indus River basin system.
Brokered by the World Bank in 1960, the Indus Waters Treaty has long served as the foundational legal framework governing cross-border water distribution between India and Pakistan.
India’s deliberate scheme to intercept river water constitutes a flagrant violation of this legally binding international treaty and a blatant disregard for international fairness and credibility.
For years, India has repeatedly threatened to renege on its treaty commitments, abusing essential water resources as a tool of political coercion against its neighbor, he added.
Prof Cheng said that Pakistan’s stern official response is fully legitimate and well-founded. Its warning that such malicious water interception measures may amount to an act of war under Article 51 of the UN Charter is a reasonable assertion of its legitimate national rights.
Water resources are the lifeblood of Pakistan’s populace and economy. India’s self-serving and short-sighted actions have drawn widespread condemnation throughout the region and across the globe. Major international media have rightly slammed this move as irresponsible and narrow-minded, pointing out that it will severely undermine bilateral ties and regional stability, he said.
Evidently, weaponizing cross-border water resources can never resolve bilateral frictions, but will only exacerbate regional tensions and undermine the security and development of South Asia.
India should immediately abandon its hostile coercive practices, strictly honor its international treaty obligations, and resolve bilateral disputes through equal and peaceful consultations. India shall bear full and sole responsibility for all adverse consequences stemming from this reckless provocation, he added.