Pak PM repeats old grouse on Indus waters at SCO as India rejects court ruling

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday repeated Pakistan’s long-standing grouse over the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, describing water as the region’s lifeline and saying that it must never be weaponised for “political leverage.” Addressing the SCO Council of Heads of State, Sharif described water as the “lifeblood” of the region and said it sustains millions of lives, supports agriculture and is crucial to the future of generations to come. “Water will not be allowed to be used as a weapon,” Sharif said, arguing that shared water resources must not be turned into an instrument of coercion or political leverage.“The treaties governing our shared waters are solemn binding international commitments. They are not matters of political conveniences to be cast aside at your will. They must be honoured unconditionally in both letter and spirit,” he said.