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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday Pakistan faced a “new threat in the form of the weaponization of water,” accusing India of violating the Indus Waters Treaty during his address to the World Summit for Social Development in Doha.

The 1960 treaty, brokered by the World Bank, divides the waters of the Indus River system between India and Pakistan and has long been regarded as one of the world’s most durable water-sharing agreements. It allocates the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan, and the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — to India.

Tensions over water have intensified in recent years as India expanded hydropower projects on western-river tributaries. Pakistan has repeatedly voiced concern that such developments could reduce downstream flows, while New Delhi maintains they remain within treaty limits.

In April 2025, following a militant attack in India-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, India announced it was placing the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. The treaty had never before been suspended despite decades of conflict. Pakistan has said any attempt to stop its share of waters will be considered an “act of war.”

“We have been threatened from across the border with a new threat in the form of weaponization of water, violation of the Indus Water Treaty,” Zardari said at the UN summit. 

“This was a serious threat to the cut of water off for 240 million Pakistanis. Such tactics cannot and will not succeed.”

Zardari also endorsed the Doha Political Declaration, the outcome document of this year’s UN summit that renews global commitments to eradicate poverty, promote full and productive employment, and strengthen social inclusion. He urged nations to unite around “equality, dignity and solidarity” and called for reforms in global finance to ensure fair development funding through debt relief, equitable taxation and affordable social investment.

The president highlighted Pakistan’s Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), the country’s flagship cash-transfer initiative launched in 2008 to assist low-income households, which Zardari said had empowered more than nine million families through income assistance, health care and education support. He also announced plans to raise literacy to 90 percent within five years and expand climate-resilient programs such as the Green Pakistan Initiative and mangrove restoration.

Zardari also used the summit to condemn the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for a lasting peace in the Middle East and denouncing what he described as “genocide, apartheid and mass starvation” against Palestinians. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s long-standing support for the “right to self-determination” of both Palestinians and Kashmiris, saying their struggles were “two sides of the same coin.” 

Pakistan does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and has consistently backed UN resolutions calling for an independent Palestinian state, while it also supports the implementation of UN resolutions on Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region claimed by both Pakistan and India.