India delivered a scathing rebuttal to Pakistan’s “disinformation campaign” on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) at the United Nations, accusing Islamabad of breaching the very spirit of the 1960 pact through repeated acts of war and state-sponsored terrorism.
Speaking at the UN Security Council’s Arria Formula meeting on ‘Protecting Water in Armed Conflict – Protecting Civilian Lives,’ India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, asserted, “We are constrained to respond to the disinformation being carried out by the delegation of Pakistan with regard to the Indus Waters Treaty. India has always acted in a responsible manner as an upper riparian state.”
In a hard-hitting speech, Harish reminded the global body that India signed the Indus Waters Treaty in good faith, motivated by “a spirit of goodwill and friendship.” But that spirit, he noted, was “repeatedly violated” by Pakistan. “Throughout these six and a half decades, Pakistan has violated the spirit of the treaty by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India,” he said.
Harish’s statement comes in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. Following the attack, India placed the Treaty in abeyance, declaring it would remain suspended until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
Harish stated, “Even as India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity throughout this period, Pakistan’s state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in India seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians, religious harmony and economic prosperity.”
The Indian envoy highlighted that over 20,000 Indian lives have been lost to terrorism over the last four decades, with the recent Pahalgam massacre being the latest example. He accused Pakistan of obstructing India’s legitimate rights under the Treaty, refusing to engage on proposed modifications even as the region faces growing challenges related to climate change, energy demands, and outdated infrastructure.
“Technology for dam infrastructure has transformed to ensure the safety and efficiency of operations and water use. Some of the old dams are facing serious safety concerns,” Harish noted, pointing out that Pakistan has blocked proposed updates, despite them being permissible under the Treaty.
In a particularly grim reminder, Harish recounted the 2012 terrorist attack on the Tulbul Navigation Project, saying such acts continue to endanger both infrastructure and civilian lives.
Reiterating that Pakistan remains in violation of the IWT, Harish concluded: “It is against this backdrop that India has finally announced that the treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan, which is a global epicentre of terror, credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.”
Earlier in the day, at another UN Security Council debate on ‘Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’, Harish also called out Pakistan’s “grossly hypocritical” stance. He said: “This has ranged from the horrific 26/11 attack on the city of Mumbai to the barbaric mass murder of innocent tourists in Pahalgam in April 2025. The victims of Pakistani terrorism have been predominantly civilians since its objective has been to attack our prosperity, progress and morale. For such a nation to even participate in a discussion on the protection of civilians is an affront to the international community.”
(Source: UNSC Open Debate on Protection of Civilians)
The India-Pakistan standoff intensified following the Pahalgam attack, prompting India to launch ‘Operation Sindoor’, involving precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7. Pakistan retaliated with attempted strikes on Indian military installations on May 8, 9, and 10, which India countered with force.
