ISLAMABAD: India has reached out to Pakistan twice in a single day to warn about potential flooding, underscoring both the urgency of the situation and the strained relations between the two neighbours.
According to diplomatic sources, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad contacted Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday to share details about possible flood conditions in the Sutlej River. Earlier, India had also issued a warning regarding the Tawi River in Jammu.
Officials noted that such exchanges of data during flood emergencies are not unusual, as India has previously provided similar information to Pakistan. However, this time, Islamabad has raised concerns over how the communication was made.
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The Foreign Office clarified that New Delhi had conveyed the warnings through diplomatic channels rather than through the Permanent Indus Commission, as required under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Pakistan has urged India to honour the treaty in both spirit and letter, warning that unilateral actions could further destabilize the already fragile regional environment.
The IWT World Bank-brokered accord signed in 1960 has long been seen as one of the few successful confidence-building measures between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Under the agreement, India was given rights over the eastern rivers (Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi), while Pakistan secured the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab). The pact also outlines clear mechanisms for resolving disputes.
Despite surviving three wars and decades of hostility, the treaty came under fresh strain earlier this year. Following a deadly militant attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which killed 26 people, India accused Pakistan of complicity an allegation Islamabad has strongly rejected. In response, New Delhi announced it would hold the IWT “in abeyance,” a move Pakistan considers a blatant violation of international law.
The escalation worsened in May when India and Pakistan engaged in their most serious military confrontation in decades, before the United States stepped in to broker a ceasefire. Meanwhile, reports suggest India is weighing water projects that could reduce downstream flow into Pakistan — a prospect Islamabad has described as an “act of war.”
As floodwaters continue to pose a real threat to communities along the rivers, the latest warnings highlight both the necessity of cooperation and the fragility of mechanisms designed to manage shared resources.
For now, Pakistan’s disaster management authorities have begun issuing local alerts based on the information received from India. But with the water treaty in question, many fear that regional stability could once again be swept away in the current.
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Sources: Pakistan News Beat Agency!
