India’s water aggression against Pakistan has three distinct dimensions.

The first is that it has blocked Pakistan’s share of the waters that flow from India into Pakistan. The second is that it has also begun obstructing Pakistan’s share of the waters that do not originate in India but flow from Indian occupied Kashmir, where India is an illegal occupying power. The third is that by diverting the waters of occupied Kashmir, India has begun depriving not only Pakistan but also Azad Kashmir of its rightful water resources.

In Pakistan, discussion has largely remained confined to the first aspect. The second and third dimensions have received little attention, even though their legal and moral significance is far greater. Together, they constitute a comprehensive indictment of India on charges of war crimes.

The issue receiving attention is that India cannot unilaterally suspend or terminate the Indus Waters Treaty. The treaty contains no provision granting India such authority. Moreover, the waters that flow from India into Pakistan are not India’s property, and India has no legal right to stop them. If it does so, it amounts to a crime against humanity, a violation of treaty obligations, a breach of the Charter of the United Nations, and a violation of universally recognized principles of international law.

The first of the two neglected issues is that India has not merely begun obstructing the waters flowing from India into Pakistan. It has also started interfering with the waters that flow into Pakistan from occupied Kashmir. Occupied Kashmir is not Indian territory. It is an occupied territory, but under international law it is not a part of India. India may be the occupying power there, but it is neither the owner of the land nor of its natural resources.

Article 55 of the Hague Regulations makes it clear that an occupying power cannot become the owner of an occupied territory. Its status is merely that of an administrator. If an occupying power exploits minerals, water, forests, or other natural resources on a permanent basis in a manner that alters their character or appropriates them for its own commercial purposes, such conduct is unlawful.

If India does not own the waters that flow from India into Pakistan and therefore cannot lawfully stop them, how can it claim ownership over the waters flowing from occupied Kashmir, and under what law is it obstructing them?

International law holds that........

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