Anxious nets, uncertain rivers: IWT violations by India threatens fishing livelihoods in Pakistan

At first light, as the sun brushes against the stone-made walls of his modest home in tehsil Raza here, Zahid Khan wastes no time but kick-starts his motorbike, balancing sacks of feed, and heads straight to his two-acre fish farm built along the River Indus amid shadows of uncertainty following Indus Water Treaty (IWT)’s violations by India since last year

SWABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2026) At first light, as the sun brushes against the stone-made walls of his modest home in tehsil Raza here, Zahid Khan wastes no time but kick-starts his motorbike, balancing sacks of feed, and heads straight to his two-acre fish farm built along the River Indus amid shadows of uncertainty following Indus Water Treaty (IWT)’s violations by India since last year.

“Water is life for hundreds of thousands of fishermen of KP, Azad Kashmir and Punjab,” the 38-year-old fisherman said as his voice edged with anxiety and frustration following IWT’s repeated violations by the Modi regime. “If the river stops, we stop. There is no second option for us but continuity of fishing business.”

For Zahid and thousands like him, fears continued surrounding violations of the Indus Waters Treaty by India since April last year, adding it was a serious human right issue and a direct threat to survival of millions of living creatures.

At his small fish farm, ponds shimmer under the morning light, stocked with Rohu, Singhara, Lala Rahu, and Mahseer. These fish are not just produce for many but entire livelihood supporting their families to live with dignity in society.

“All of this largely depends on uninterrupted rivers water of Sindh, Chanab and Jehlum as Pakistan right on these rivers were internationally as well as by India were accepted and India can’t suspend IWT unilaterally,” a post graduate Zahid said, gesturing toward the flowing Indus told APP.

“Even a few days of disruption of water can kill millions of fish seed and destroy months of efforts of poor fishermen,” he said. “We have heard about restrictions on the Chenab in December last year, about water being held back at Baglihar dam by India illegally,” he added.

“If such illegal steps continues, not only my farm but thousands of other fish farms in KP, Azad Kashmir and Punjab will likely to collapse. “Fish will certainly die, and people will be hardly left sea food.”

Across Swabi, Haripur, Kohistan, Azad Kashmir, and Punjab, fish farming is tied directly to the Indus river system. Any interference in water flows sends shockwaves through this already fragile sector and expose millions of people to hunger and starvation in Pakistan.

“IWT violations is a direct attack on food systems and people of Pakistan,” said Former Director General Fisheries KP, Muhammad Shafi Marwat, while delivering a stark warning. “Suspending or undermining the treaty is not a technical or diplomatic issue rather it is a direct assault on our agriculture, food systems and livelihoods,” he said. “Fisheries cannot survive on uncertain water. If water flows are restricted, breeding cycles collapse even overnight,” said Marwat.

He warned that cold-water species like brown and rainbow trout mostly thriving in rivers such as Swat, Kunhar, and Neelum are extremely sensitive to water flow and temperature changes and mostly perishes in case of unavailability of water or restricted river flows.

“In lower regions, species like Mahseer are equally at risk,” Marwat added. “From Gilgit-Baltistan to Punjab, fisheries, wildlife, forest, ecology and biological diversity are likely to be affected, disrupting climate conditions and rains cycles in the wake of climate change. Disrupt one river, and you destabilize the entire ecological and food chain in the region.”

Senior Economist at University of Peshawar Dr. Muhammad Naeem Khattak expanded the warning beyond fisheries, calling the situation a looming national food emergency.

“Nearly 80 percent of Pakistan’s agriculture and a major share of its fisheries depend on the Indus basin,” he said. “This is not just a resource issue but it is a food security crisis in the making,” Dr Khattak reiterated, urging the World Bank being guarantor of IWT to quickly step in and saved millions of living creatures of starvation and hungers in Pakistan.

Fed by glaciers from the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush, the river system sustains millions of populations in Pakistan. Any interference in water flow, he warned, will have immediate and severe food consequences on humans, wildlife, bees population and aquatic resources.

“A reduction in water supply can slash agriculture and orchards yields in KP, Azad Kashmir and Punjab by up to 40 percent,” he said. “This will expose millions of people to hunger and starvation in Pakistan. Let’s be clear this is not only an economic or water issue, it is a human rights issue.”

He called for an urgent international attention by pressing of fascist Modi Govt to reverse its unilateral and illegal decision otherwise it will put the entire region into the brink of food insecurity.

He said India was using water as geopolitical weapon that could undermine stability and development in South Asia. “The World Bank, as guarantor of the treaty, cannot remain a silent spectator and if this dispute escalates, it will put peace of subcontinent into jeopardy,” he reiterated.

Experts said that water shortages in Sindh last year delayed cotton sowing across 150,000 acres, reducing both yield and quality. Reports of restricted flows in the Chenab in December last year have further deepened concerns of experts and fishermen of KP in the wake of IWT violations by India.

“If water is held and then suddenly released, it triggers floods,” Marwat explained. “We have seen this negative approach most recently in rivers like Jhelum and Ravi in Punjab where crops were destroyed, fish farms wiped out and infrastructure damaged due to unannounced release of water by India.”

On the other hand, the reduced water flows in western rivers may deprive land and water bodies of nutrient-rich silt. “That silt is natural fertilizer,” he said. “Without it, soil fertility declines, breeding grounds shrink, and productivity collapses across agriculture and fisheries besides increasing glaciers melting in Hamalyia region in the wake of depleting forest resources.”

For small farmers and fishermen like Zahid, survival is becoming increasingly difficult if IWT violations continued. With declining river flows, many fishermen would be forced to rely on tube wells which means pumping groundwater at high energy costs.

“For fishermen like Zahid, this is a great test for the World Bank and International Community to intervene immediately to save living creatures of starvation and hunger,” Khattak said. “Costs of agriculture, fish meet and oil products are rising sharply in the wake of regional escalations in Middle East, and IWT violations will lead to food insecurity and economy downfall in the region.”

“If this negative situation continues, small farmers and fishermen will likely to be pushed out of the food system by increasing unemployment and poverty in the region.”

Back at his fish farm, Zahid watches water trickle into his ponds after clearing water channels of extra mud and silt.

“If water becomes uncertain, how will we survive?” he asked. It is a question echoing across thousands of households dependent on rivers, fields, and fish ponds. If the river flows falter, the consequences will not remain confined to reports and negotiations rather they will be felt in empty markets, rising food prices, and deepening rural poverty in the region.

The experts called for strengthened water diplomacy, improved storage infrastructure, modern irrigation systems, and efficient resource management. But above all, they stressed one critical point that the historic Indus Waters Treaty signed by President Ayub Khan and Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1960 must be protected at all cost.

“Water is no longer just a natural resource,” Naeem Khattak said. “It is the foundation of economic stability, food security, and human survival.” For Pakistan’s fisheries sector and millions who depend on it, he said the margin for error is rapidly disappearing.

They stressed the need to safeguard the treaty as a cornerstone of regional stability. Because for Pakistan water is no longer just a resource but survival for agriculture and fisheries sectors.