QUETTA: Chairman of the United Ulema Board Balochistan Maulana Hafiz Syed Samiullah Agha and Dr Atta-ur-Rehman on Friday condemned India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to regional peace.

At a joint press conference, leaders of various religious parties, including Ibrahim Agha, Allama Shehzad, Ismatullah Salim, Syed Abdul Sattar Shah Chishti and Maulana Abdul Rehman, declared that scholars and religious leaders from all schools of thought unitedly rejected India’s actions.

They warned that breaking such a critical treaty was “equivalent to pushing global peace into darkness.”

They emphasised that upholding the treaty is not just a legal obligation, but also a religious, moral, and humanitarian duty. “The Ulema will raise this issue at all relevant forums,” they said.

The press conference followed a high-level meeting of prominent scholars and religious leaders from various sects. The conference focused on regional tensions, repeated Indian violations of the treaty, provocations along the Pakistan border, ceasefire violations, and broader threats to global peace.

The conference concluded with a unanimous resolution declaring that breaching the Indus Waters Treaty is tantamount to harming global stability.

“Pakistan has always res­pected international laws, diplomatic agreem­ents, and global trust,” rel­igious leaders said. “The Indus Waters Treaty was a serious peace initiative by Pakistan. As a nuclear, military, ideological, and moral power, Pak­i­stan’s silence— along with that of its scholars and people — should not be mistaken for weakness.”

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2025