'India Has Shown Extraordinary Patience...’ India Lambasts Pakistan on Indus Water Treaty

At the Arria Formula Meeting on the Indus Water Treaty, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Parvathaneni Harish, delivered a strong statement accusing Pakistan of breaching the spirit of the treaty. He asserted that while India entered the agreement 65 years ago in good faith, Pakistan responded with repeated hostility—inflicting three wars and supporting thousands of terror attacks, the most recent being the Pahalgam attack.

‘India Has Shown Extraordinary Patience...’ India Lambasts Pakistan on Indus Water Treaty

#WATCH | New York | At the Arria Formula Meeting, on the Indus Water Treaty, Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, says, "India entered into the Indus Water Treaty 65 years ago in good faith. Pakistan has violated its spirit by inflicting three wars… pic.twitter.com/DCFVLbi7Rx

— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025

Harish emphasized that over 20,000 Indian lives have been lost due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, and despite this, India has continued to honor the Treaty with patience and magnanimity. “Pakistan’s state-sponsored cross-border terrorism seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians and the economic prosperity of the region,” he stated.

Technical Development 

Highlighting technical developments, he pointed out that dam infrastructure technology has evolved significantly, allowing safer and more efficient water usage. However, Pakistan has blocked critical updates to aging Indian infrastructure, risking both operational safety and regional water security. “Some of the old dams are facing safety concerns, yet Pakistan continues to obstruct necessary changes clearly allowed under the Treaty,” he added.

He also recalled the 2012 terrorist attack on the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir, underlining the persistent threat to India's water management systems. Harish noted that India has been trying to engage Pakistan in discussions to modify the Treaty for the last two years, but Pakistan’s obstructionist stance has stalled all progress.

“In this context, India has decided to keep the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism,” Harish declared. “It is Pakistan—not India—that is violating the core tenets and trust that underpin the Treaty.”

India’s tough message at the UN underscores its shift towards a more assertive diplomatic approach, holding Pakistan accountable at global platforms while defending its right to national security and economic stability.