A Conspiracy To Get Pakistan Water From India Under Indus Treaty? How Is Pakistan’s Global Image Affecting IWT Negotiations?

22nd April 2026 at 5:20 PM

2 minutes read

Karachi : India has kept the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, under which it shared water with Pakistan after its role in the Pahalgam terror attack of 2025. India’s leadership has made it clear, blood and water won’t flow together. The attack at Baisaran valley in Pahalagm on April 22 last year saw tourists being segregated on the basis of religion and shot dead at point-blank range.

A pattern of literature has emerged across Pakistani media and global think-tanks and platforms in recent weeks on the IWT. These come immediately after a meeting convened by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. The articles, published over the last few weeks, deliberately ignore or downplay Pakistan’s role in terrorism and treaty violations. London-based think tank Chatham House was the most prominent, playing the role of pushing Pakistan’s agenda.

“President Asif Ali Zardari chaired a meeting on water resources, raising concern over India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, and directing transparent, declared load shedding to minimise power outages,” the president’s official handle posted on X on April 15. Barely 48 hours after Zardari’s meeting, UK-based Chatham House published an expert comment titled ‘India and Pakistan still cannot agree to restore the Indus Waters Treaty – but re-engagement could help bring lasting peace’.

The treaty, facilitated by the World Bank, allows lower riparian state Pakistan to use the waters of the western rivers of the Indus River System, and emerged as one of the most successful water-sharing treaties in the world. Pakistan’s agriculture and power generation depend heavily on the waters of the Indus system. The Chatham House article makes no mention of the word “terrorism”, despite Pakistan’s documented support for jihadis and India’s long-standing warnings that terrorists will not be treated as proxies, and cross-border attacks will be met with direct and appropriate responses.

The usual pro- Pak games by the British establishment. The article advocates external intervention to unblock India’s suspension of the Treaty…” The argument of water for peace has been met with failure for decades. While Pakistan got water from India, it tried to bleed India with a thousand cuts. Indians pointed that flawed argument to Chatham House.

And all it got in return from Pakistan was wars and terror attacks. Chatham House wants India to be a masochist again. No, thanks,” wrote author and commentator Amish Tripathi on X. Chatham House is considered an extension of the British foreign policy establishment. This timing is dubious. When coupled with selective framing that downplays Pakistan’s role in terrorism, it becomes even more questionable.

While the Karachi-based daily Dawn headlined the APP piece ‘Water worries grip KP [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] farmers amid Indus Treaty concerns’, Pakistan Today’s headline was ‘KP farmers fear water shortages over IWT concerns’. The APP article had an emotional quote from a Dera Ismail Khan-based farmer, Adnan Khan. “We live by this water. If it stops, everything stops,” Khan was quoted as saying.

The same day (April 20), Lahore-based daily, The Nation, echoed the same tone, quoting the leader of the Khaskheli tribe (Sindhi), Chief Sardar Raja Ghulam Murtaza Khaskheli, alleging India seeks to “weaken Pakistan by violating the Indus Waters Treaty, by seeking control over Pakistan’s water resources.” The tribal leader quoted by The Nation demanded the government raise it at international fora and respond firmly to “aggressive actions”. Pakistan seems to be doing well with the help of some compliant partners.

Even the Chatham House article criticised New Delhi’s “lack of response” to UN Special Rapporteurs’ queries on the alleged IWT violations, framing India as evading “international accountability processes” while glossing over the treaty’s suspension being tied to the Pahalgam attack.