Pakistan Escalates Indus Waters Treaty Dispute to UN Security Council on One-Year Suspension Anniversary

On April 24, 2026 — exactly one year after India placed the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam attack — Pakistan's Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar formally escalated the dispute to the UN Security Council. Through UN Permanent Representative Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan delivered a letter to UNSC President Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei of Bahrain, demanding the Council compel India to: restore full IWT implementation, resume all treaty-mandated data-sharing obligations, cease what Pakistan termed 'water weaponisation,' and comply with international water treaty obligations. Pakistan's letter alleged India approved the Dulhasti Stage-II Hydropower Project in violation of treaty provisions and has diverted river flows. FM Dar underscored that over 240 million Pakistanis face severe food security, hydropower, and ecological risks if the IWT suspension continues. India made no immediate public response; Home Minister Amit Shah had previously declared India would 'never' restore the treaty. The UNSC escalation follows the Permanent Court of Arbitration's June 2025 ruling — that India cannot unilaterally suspend treaty proceedings — which India rejected as 'illegal and void.' The letter marks the first time Pakistan has formally sought UNSC intervention on the IWT dispute since the treaty's signing in 1960.