Pakistan urges India to honour Indus Waters Treaty at UNSC

Backs UN resolution to delist Syrian leaders, calls for stability and reconstruction

Pakistan has called on India to fully comply with the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), warning that India’s unilateral suspension earlier this year represents a “deliberate weaponisation of shared natural resources” that threatens ecosystems and the livelihoods of millions.

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks during a Security Council briefing on the environmental impact of armed conflict and climate-driven security risks.

“India’s unlawful unilateral decision undermines the letter and spirit of the treaty, disrupts data sharing, and endangers the lives of millions who depend on these waters for food and energy security,” Ahmad said. “Such acts do not harm only one country, they weaken confidence in international water law and set a precedent for resource-based coercion elsewhere.”

Read: Here's what India's suspension of Indus Waters Treaty means for Pakistan

He described India’s move as a violation of a treaty that has governed equitable water sharing between the two countries for more than six decades. The envoy recalled that the 1960 treaty, mediated by the World Bank, allocates the six rivers of the Indus basin between India and Pakistan, giving Pakistan control over the western rivers and India over the eastern rivers.

Disputes over India’s hydropower projects on the western rivers have been a source of tension for years, culminating in arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. In 2025, the PCA reaffirmed the treaty’s continuing validity and its dispute settlement mechanisms, ruling that no party can unilaterally suspend the agreement.

“No provision of the treaty allows unilateral suspension or modification,” Ahmad stressed. “We therefore expect full respect for the treaty and an early return to compliance and normal functioning through established channels.”

The ambassador also highlighted the link between environmental degradation and broader security challenges. He noted that armed conflict and climate-related stress, including rising sea levels, pose existential threats to vulnerable nations, and urged the Security Council to focus on early conflict prevention, integrate environmental considerations into peace operations, uphold international humanitarian law, and ensure coordinated post-conflict ecological recovery.

Ahmad further called for new, predictable, grant-based climate and biodiversity financing. “Environmental damage in conflict is not just collateral—it can be a multiplier of insecurity,” he said, reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to international cooperation to transform shared natural resources into instruments of collaboration rather than contention. He warned that such support must not increase debt burdens or be double-counted with development or humanitarian aid.

Delisting Syrian leaders from UN sanctions committee

Pakistan has voted in favor of the UN Security Council resolution to delist Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab from the 1267 sanctions committee, describing the move as a step toward Syria’s political stability, institutional rebuilding, and economic recovery.

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the vote aims to enable Syria to pursue sustainable development after more than a decade of conflict and civil war, emphasizing that sanctions relief should be coupled with sustained dialogue and a Syrian-led political process.

Explanation of Vote by Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad,
Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN
On Delisting of Syrian Leaders From the 1267 Sanctions Committee
(6th November 2025)
****

Thank you Mr. President,

Pakistan has voted in favor of the resolution just now… pic.twitter.com/Y5nOrD9ieM

— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) November 7, 2025

“The Syrian people have suffered for more than a decade. Today’s vote is a welcome step to support their transition toward peace and stability,” Ahmad said.

He cautioned that challenges remain, including ongoing terrorist threats and the presence of foreign fighters, urging Syrian authorities to consolidate central control and stabilize the country.

Pakistan reaffirmed its solidarity with Syria and its commitment to supporting inclusive nation-building through international engagement, aligning its position with broader efforts by the Security Council to back Syria’s new transitional leadership and restore confidence in its governance.