Re-reading the water treaty
Indian and Pakistani officials are engaged in a public debate regarding the long-term viability and fairness of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. The exchange highlights deep-seated grievances over water allocation, infrastructure development, and historical obligations between the two nations.
Why it matters
The Indus Waters Treaty is a critical framework for regional stability; its potential breakdown could exacerbate tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The writer is a climate expert. Listen to article 1x 1.2x 1.5x comments Join our Whatsapp Channel Add Dawn as a trusted source TWO senior officials, one each from Pakistan and India, have laid their arguments before an international readership. Dr. P.K. Saxena, former Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters, published a two-part indictment of the Indus Waters Treaty in May 2026, now circulating through Indian embassies worldwide. Syed Mehar Ali Shah, Pakistan’s serving commissioner, replied in Dawn on June 16. Both men know the IWT’s text better than most people today. Read together, their exchange is the most technically precise public debate on the Indus since the IWT was signed. It is also, ultimately, a debate between two officials who are both looking backwards. The rivers they are arguing over are not the rivers that existed in 1960.
The article presents both the Indian and Pakistani perspectives on the treaty dispute in a balanced, analytical manner.
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