India issued a scathing rebuttal to Pakistan at the United Nations on Friday, accusing Islamabad of spreading “disinformation” regarding the Indus Waters Treaty and asserting that Pakistan has repeatedly violated the spirit of the 65-year-old agreement through wars and continued sponsorship of terrorism.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, addressed the UN Security Council’s Arria Formula meeting on the theme ‘Protecting Water in Armed Conflict – Protecting Civilian Lives,’ organized by Slovenia. He responded sharply to Pakistan’s remarks at the session, stating that New Delhi had no choice but to clarify the facts following false claims from the Pakistani delegation.
“We are constrained to respond to the disinformation being carried out by the delegation of Pakistan with regard to the Indus Waters Treaty,” Harish said. “India has always acted in a responsible manner as an upper riparian state. More than 20,000 Indians have died in terror-related incidents over the past 40 years.”
He added,”India has approached Pakistan several times over the last two years to discuss updating the treaty framework. However, Pakistan has refused to engage, adopting an obstructionist stance that prevents India from fully utilising its legitimate water rights.”
India formally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty on April 23, a day after a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killed 26 civilians. New Delhi attributed the attack to cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan and declared that the treaty would remain in abeyance until Islamabad “credibly and irrevocably” halts its support for such acts.
Harish highlighted that India entered the treaty in 1960 “in a spirit of goodwill and friendship,” but Pakistan has consistently undermined it through hostile actions. “Over the past 65 years, Pakistan has inflicted three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India. These acts seek to hold hostage civilian lives, religious harmony, and economic prosperity. Until Pakistan, the global epicentre of terror, ends its support for cross-border terrorism, the Indus Waters Treaty will remain in abeyance,” he said.
