India's water intransigence

India's unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty has endangered regional peace and security. Apart from the fact that the move is in contravention of international law, it has thrown to the wind the decorum of a good neighborhood, as well as the rights of the lower riparian state. This illegality of the Indian repudiation of the IWT necessitates a collective response from the comity of nations - especially international arbitration institutions - to ensure that water, as a fundamental right to life, is not used as a weapon of coercion and terrorism. Thus, Pakistan's civil society, jurisprudents, diplomats and legislators have – at an international seminar held in Islamabad recently – rightfully called for censuring New Delhi and making it abide by the conventions of peaceful coexistence.

The way forward for Pakistan is to properly sequence and calibrate all available lawfare options at forums like the UNGA, the ICJ and the UNHRC. Islamabad's stance on the IWT, however, has been seconded by World Bank President Ajay Banga, who termed Delhi's move ultra vires, stating that the "treaty contains no provisions for unilateral suspension or pause." Likewise, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Islamabad's position regarding maximum pondage limits is rational, and that the "current policy of India to construct hydroelectric projects on the western rivers is illegal." With India found on the wrong side of both law and ethics, it is time to flag its water terrorism and subsequently raise the cost of non-compliance under international law.

All options must be deployed to foil Indian attempts to starve Pakistan of its rightful share of the Western Rivers. It needs to be pointed out that both the IWT and customary international law point towards a cooperative sharing of river waters which, in a climate change-induced environment of water scarcity, is the guarantor of human security and peace in South Asia. Thus, India's water intransigence is inhumane, callous and dangerous, to say the least. This unilateral modification of watercourses is a precursor to collective ecological destruction in the region.