India delivered a strong rebuttal to Pakistan’s claims at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), accusing its neighbour of distorting facts about the Indus Water Treaty and spreading disinformation, even as it continues to support cross-border terrorism.
Speaking at the Arria Formula Meeting on “Protecting Water in Armed Conflict – Protecting Civilian Lives,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, asserted that Pakistan had repeatedly violated the spirit of the 1960 treaty by engaging in hostility and terror against India.
“India entered into the Indus Water Treaty 65 years ago in good faith,” Harish said. “Yet, Pakistan has violated its spirit by waging three wars and orchestrating thousands of terror attacks that have killed over 20,000 Indian citizens in the last four decades, including the recent targeted attack on tourists in Pahalgam.”
Harish underscored that India, as the upper riparian state, has always upheld its treaty obligations and exercised restraint, despite repeated provocations and terrorist threats to critical water infrastructure like the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir, which was attacked in 2012.
He added that major developments over the past six decades—including rising energy needs, climate change, and safety concerns with aging dams—necessitated revisiting aspects of the treaty. However, Pakistan has consistently blocked India’s requests for modifications, even though such changes are permitted under the treaty framework.
“In light of Pakistan’s persistent obstructionism and continued sponsorship of terror, India has formally placed the treaty in abeyance,” Harish announced. “Pakistan’s actions have made it clear who is in violation of the agreement.”
India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in April 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack, which it attributes to Pakistan-based groups. The move, India maintains, is a consequence of Pakistan’s refusal to engage meaningfully and its continued use of terrorism as state policy.
Harish concluded by calling on the international community to recognize the reality of Pakistan’s duplicity and stand against the use of terrorism as a geopolitical tool.
