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Pakistan has accused arch-rival India of "weaponizing" water through two new river projects that it claims violate a major bilateral treaty. Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told journalists that New Delhi had not consulted Islamabad on the two Chenab River projects, which he asserted would undermine the Indus Water Treaty.

"These projects confirm that India seems to weaponise water," Andrabi said. "This carries dangerous implications not only for Pakistan's economy but also for regional stability and international peace and security." He added that any illegal measure endangering Pakistan's water, food, and economic security, as well as the survival and well-being of its 250 million people, is unacceptable.

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These projects confirm that India seems to weaponise water. This carries dangerous implications not only for Pakistan's economy but also for regional stability and international peace and security.

India, however, insists it is within its rights to proceed with projects on waters it controls, even though rivers flowing through both countries would be impacted. India announced last year it was suspending the bilateral Indus Water Treaty, which governs the use of waterways relied upon by hundreds of millions, in the lead-up to armed conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Andrabi maintained that the treaty still binds both governments.

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any illegal measure to endanger Pakistan's water, food and economic security as well as the survival and wellbeing of its 250 million people is unacceptable.

Pakistan has previously stated it would consider any attempt to change the flow of cross-border waterways an "act of war." In May, India's government-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation issued a tender notice for a proposed tunnel project to transfer water from the Chenab River to the Beas basin. India's power ministry also stated in January it was undertaking "sediment removal" at the Salal Power Station on the Chenab River "following the termination of the Indus Waters Treaty."

"Pakistan will retain all options necessary for safeguarding rights under the treaty and to protect its vital national interest," Andrabi stated, without elaborating on a specific course of action. Experts note that water risks becoming a flashpoint in a region grappling with climate change and population growth, which are stretching resources in the agricultural sectors that form the backbone of both countries' economies.

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Pakistan will retain all options necessary for safeguarding rights under the treaty and to protect its vital national interest.