Pakistan PM Sharif rakes up India’s abeyance of Indus Waters Treaty at international platform

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif warns India against weaponizing water, emphasizing the importance of preserving glaciers and international cooperation.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday (May 30, 2025) rejected the “weaponisation of water” and warned that Pakistan would not allow India to cross the red line by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and endangering millions of lives for narrow political gains.

Mr. Sharif was addressing a three-day International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe when he raked up the issue of India-Pakistan bilateral Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

Also read: Suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty: What are the implications for India and Pakistan? 

“India’s unilateral and illegal decision to hold in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of the Indus Basin’s water, is deeply regrettable,” Dawn reported quoting Mr. Sharif.

“Millions of lives must not be held hostage to narrow political gains, and Pakistan will not allow this. We will never allow the red line to be crossed,” the Prime Minister told the conference attended by over 2,500 delegates from 80 UN member states and 70 international organisations.

The event is being hosted by the Tajikistan government in collaboration with the United Nations, UNESCO, World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the Asian Development Bank, and other key partners as a historic moment for climate ambition, glacier preservation, and international cooperation.

Mr. Sharif’s remarks came after India, soon after the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, announced abeyance of the IWT among other punitive measures. The IWT was signed in 1960 by the two countries to address the water dispute between them and to share the waters of the six main rivers of the Indus basin.