Pakistan assails 17 Indian water projects, calls them ‘tools for hydro-hegemony’

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar warned on Thursday of “at least 17” projects by India designed to drastically alter the Indus river system and lend it “tools for hydro-hegemony”.

The deputy prime minister, in a recorded keynote address at a seminar on trans-boundary water resources, said that responsible states act “within established legal frameworks” rather than abandoning them — referring to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between Pakistan and India that has been unilaterally suspended by India since May of last year.

“The treaty envisages the peaceful resolution of disputes within its own framework,” he said, highlighting that it survived “three major conflicts and several other challenges” over the decades. He also noted that Pakistan had previously voiced concerns over “certain actions by India” under the treaty.

“Consistent with the treaty’s provisions, we sought settlement through international mechanisms and respected decisions that even fell short of our expectations,” he said. “At no stage was the outright unilateral abrogation of the treaty considered a viable course of action by the other side.”

“It is important to underscore that our concerns are not merely based on Indian statements,” the deputy prime minister stressed, stating that India had “followed up its belligerent statements with illegal actions”.

These included projects to create reservoirs, expansion of existing structures and, “most alarmingly”, diversion projects on the Indus, Chenab and Ravi rivers.

“In total, at least 17 such projects that will drastically alter the river system as a whole, giving India the tools for hydro-hegemony that it so desires,” he said.

“River systems are not merely waterways — they are lifelines. They carry profound historical significance and serve as immediate sources of sustenance and survival,” the deputy prime minister noted.

“The stated policy of our eastern neighbour to intentionally deprive 240 million people of their rightful access to water represents a catastrophe in the making of unparalleled magnitude.”

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