Pakistan Seeks Canadian Aid as India Suspends Water Treaty

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar sought Canada's support for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) during a joint press briefing in Islamabad on July 20, 2026. Dar characterized India's suspension of the 1960 World Bank-brokered agreement as the "weaponization of water" and argued that the move has increased regional security volatility.

The Government of India placed the treaty in abeyance in April 2025 following a terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians. India maintains that the agreement will remain suspended until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism. Indian officials also argue the pact is outdated due to climate change and demographic shifts, and they accuse Pakistan of using the treaty to delay Indian hydropower projects.

As a result of the suspension, India has deactivated institutional mechanisms like the Permanent Indus Commission and refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the treaty's Court of Arbitration. Instead, India is accelerating several hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Kiru and Pakal Dul projects. While India will continue providing humanitarian flood warnings, it asserts that any future revival of the treaty requires a full renegotiation of its terms.