Overview
- Pakistani officials intensified public accusations on June 30, 2026, saying India has not complied with the Indus Waters Treaty since August 2023 and that Islamabad has sent formal letters demanding data and inspections.
- The Indus commissioner, Syed Mehr Ali Shah, alleges an unlawful Chenab–Beas link is being built to divert about 1.9 million gallons from the Chenab and says India must allow Pakistan to inspect such projects under the treaty.
- Political leaders including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari framed the dispute as an existential threat to Pakistan’s food and power security and vowed to pursue political, diplomatic and legal options to protect water rights.
- A Russian expert quoted in Pakistani coverage warned that upper-basin dams and unilateral projects could raise regional instability and criticized a reported, secondhand Indian minister’s remark about denying Pakistan water as illegal.
- The Indus Waters Treaty provides a formal dispute process through the Permanent Indus Commission and Pakistan is urging renewed international rules against using shared water as a weapon while warning of humanitarian and economic risks if flows are curtailed.