A farmer in Pakistan’s Punjab does not need to follow international arbitration to know when his crops are at risk. A family beside the Chenab does not need to read diplomatic cables to know what an early flood warning is worth. For both, information about water can decide whether they keep their livelihood, their home or their lives.

That information now depends on the state of relations between two nuclear-armed neighbours.

On 23rd April 2025, a day after the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, India placed the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance”. The attack killed 26 tourists and demands accountability. India says the suspension will last until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for cross-border terrorism. Indian police named three suspects, including two Pakistani nationals. Pakistan denies involvement and has offered to join a neutral international investigation. Five UN experts later noted that India has not disclosed credible evidence that Pakistan’s government sent the attackers.

Even so, whether the allegations are true is a separate question from whether suspending the treaty is lawful. On that second question, international law has spoken.

The treaty has survived multiple wars. It gives Pakistan the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, the rivers on which most of its agriculture depends. It also created a joint commission, data-sharing and dispute resolution.

The........

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