Pakistan PM warns India over Indus waters as act of war

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned India that any attempt to stop, impede, or divert Pakistan’s share of the Indus River waters will be treated as an act of war. He delivered this stark message during his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, September 25.

Sharif criticised India’s recent decision to suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. He asserted the treaty retains full legal validity and called India's move to place it in abeyance baseless. The treaty, signed on September 19, 1960, regulates the sharing of the Indus river system between the two nations.

Treaty validity and regional stakes

Sharif described the shared waters as the lifeblood not only for Pakistan but for the entire region. He stated that Pakistan's position that the treaty remains valid, binding, and fully operative has been vindicated beyond any doubt. India's actions, he claimed, have been rejected by UN experts and the Court of Arbitration.

"Water must never be weaponized," Sharif said. "Rivers should nourish nations, not divide them." India suspended the treaty following the Pahalgam attack in April 2025, stating it would remain suspended until Pakistan abandons support for cross-border terrorism. This marks a significant escalation in long-standing water-sharing disputes.

Broader regional and global concerns

Beyond the water crisis, Sharif condemned a spectrum of regional conflicts. He denounced recent Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, including an attempted drone attack on Mecca. He called for the strategic Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb to remain open, describing them as arteries of the global economy.

On Islamophobia, he linked rising religious hatred to RSS-driven Hindutva ideology, which he said fans communal violence and attacks on places of worship. He also addressed the Gaza conflict, recalling eight-year-old Wafa Akilah, killed on what should have been her first day of school. He questioned whether a child in Gaza deserved the same future as any other.

Kashmir, self-defence and path to peace

Sharif framed the Kashmir dispute as central to regional peace. He called for a just and fair solution, stating Kashmir has and always will be Pakistan's jugular vein. He said Kashmiris have waited eight decades for a UN-promised plebiscite, enduring illegal occupation, arbitrary detention, and violence.

Referencing a 2025 military confrontation, Sharif stated Pakistan exercised its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter following what he described as external aggression from India. He credited US diplomatic intervention at the time with averting a wider war between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Echoing the assembly's theme of restoring trust, Sharif advocated for dialogue over confrontation. He said trust would be restored when guns are silenced and replaced by handshakes. He also called on Afghan authorities to take verifiable, decisive action against terrorist groups operating from sanctuaries to destabilize Pakistan.

Sharif concluded by calling for a just and fair solution to the Kashmir dispute as essential to preventing future crises.