DOHA: Warning against the weaponisation of water, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday that India’s violations of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could not and would not be allowed to succeed.

New Delhi had unilaterally held the IWT in abeyance following an attack in occupied Kashmir, which it blamed on Islamabad without evidence, leading to a military escalation in May of this year.

Pakistan has already said that it would construe any attempt by India to suspend its water share an “act of war”, noting the IWT had no provision for unilateral suspension.

Addressing the issue at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar, the president said: “We in Pakistan, on the one hand, face the brunt of the impact of climate change, which has caused devastation for our people in the form of large-scale floods … on the other hand, we face a new threat in the form of water weaponisation. Water, which all the world knows, is an equal right of any human being and humanity.

Meets Guterres, reaffirms Pakistan’s support for global body’s role in promoting peace

“We are being threatened from across the border with a new threat in the form of weaponisation of water, violation of the IWT. This poses a serious threat to 240 million Pakistanis. Such tactics cannot and will not succeed.”

A supplemental award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague in June held that India could not unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance. India, in response, said it did not recognise the court or its decisions.

Meetings

The president also met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the summit.

In his meeting with the UN chief, President Zardari reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong support for multilateralism and the central role of the UN in promoting peace, equity and shared prosperity.

He underscored the importance of resolving longstanding disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, and called for the reversal of India’s unilateral and illegal measures.

The president also reiterated Pakistan’s principled position on Palestine, stressing the need to end the suffering of the Palestinian people. The president also raised the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, recalling that it remained one of the oldest unresolved items on the agenda of the UN Security Council.

President Zardari met his Iraqi counterpart Dr Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid and the two leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening longstanding ties.

President Zardari appreciated Iraq’s cooperation in facilitating Pakistani pilgrims and acknowledged the valuable contribution of the Pakistani community in Iraq.

The Iraqi president invited President Zardari to visit Iraq. The president accepted the invitation and said that he would undertake the visit soon.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2025