Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said India has unilaterally held the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, describing it as the first instance in modern history of water being weaponized and creating a serious new security challenge for Pakistan.
Speaking in a conversation with Farwa Amin, director for South Asian initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York, the minister said the 70-year-old treaty had remained “untouchable” even through multiple wars between the two countries. “This time around, the Indian government has unilaterally held it in abeyance… and that sort of creates a new challenge that first time probably, water has been weaponized in modern history,” Iqbal stated. He warned that India could now deny Pakistan water when it is needed for crops and release it when it is not required, turning a shared resource into a potential instrument of pressure.
Pakistan is responding on two tracks. First, it is accelerating construction of new reservoirs to create a strategic buffer. The Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams, once completed, will add roughly six million acre-feet of storage capacity. Iqbal noted that Pakistan had not built any major new reservoir for almost 40 to 50 years and therefore has “some catching up to do.” These projects are intended both to stabilise water supply against climate-driven variability and to reduce vulnerability to upstream manipulation.
Second, Islamabad is pursuing all available diplomatic channels to prevent the dispute from escalating into conflict. “We cannot let this go unnoticed,” the minister said, adding that South Asia already has a history of wars and must now prioritise development, poverty reduction, disease control and literacy for its large youth population. He observed that South Asia remains the least integrated region in the world despite the proven benefits of regional connectivity elsewhere.
The water challenge sits within a broader set of economic and strategic priorities Iqbal outlined. He placed geoeconomics at the centre of Pakistan’s foreign policy under the “Udaan Pakistan” framework and the 5E strategy, arguing that the relationship with the United States in particular must move beyond the traditional security-geopolitics axis. Critical minerals form a key pillar of this shift. Pakistan estimates its mineral endowment at more than $7 trillion. Decades of regional conflict and domestic political instability had deterred the long-term capital these projects require. With improved macroeconomic stability, the government is actively courting foreign partners, including US firms, through mechanisms such as the memorandum of understanding with US Strategic Metals, potential EXIM financing and participation in critical-minerals ministerial processes.
Iqbal was equally clear that engagement with the United States would not come at the expense of China. He described China as a “trusted partner” that stepped in during Pakistan’s energy crisis with the first phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), delivering approximately $25 billion in investment that ended prolonged power shortages and upgraded highways, fibre-optic networks and Gwadar port. CPEC 2.0, he said, shifts the focus from government-to-government infrastructure to business-to-business cooperation across five corridors: growth, livelihoods, innovation, green energy and regional connectivity. Priority sectors include climate-resilient agriculture, industrial joint ventures, mines and minerals, technology and human-resource development. Several billion dollars of joint-venture agreements have already been signed at recent business conferences.
On the question of balancing the two major powers in the minerals sector, Iqbal insisted Pakistan has historically maintained strong relations with both the United States and China simultaneously and does not view economic development as a zero-sum game. “Pakistan does not believe in having a relationship with any country at the cost of another country,” he said.
Artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure form another priority. Iqbal recalled that centres for artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, big data, robotics, GIS and genomics were established under Vision 2025 on a hub-and-spoke model linking universities and geared toward commercialisation and start-ups. Building on that foundation, the new national AI policy addresses the full value chain—data centres, curriculum reform from school to higher education, data sovereignty and domain-specific task forces in education, healthcare, industry and governance. He noted that Pakistan currently has surplus energy capacity, both renewable and conventional, making it attractive for data-centre investment in the short to medium term.
Energy abundance, however, does not resolve the deeper water constraint. Iqbal linked the two issues directly: AI and mining are water-intensive, while climate change already threatens food security in one of the world’s most vulnerable countries. New dams therefore serve both developmental and strategic purposes.
Throughout the discussion Iqbal returned to the theme that Pakistan’s large, talented young population and geographic position at the crossroads of Asian markets give it comparative advantages in IT, technology collaboration and regional connectivity. Partnerships with US universities—echoing the earlier Pakistan-US Knowledge Corridor and historical cooperation that enabled the Green Revolution—remain a priority, as does private-sector engagement with both American and Chinese firms.
The minister’s comments underscore a consistent policy line: stabilise the domestic economy, accelerate strategic infrastructure (especially water storage), expand economic diplomacy beyond security, and treat relationships with major powers as complementary rather than exclusive. On the Indus Waters Treaty, the message was unambiguous—Pakistan will build physical buffers and pursue diplomacy to ensure water is not turned into a permanent instrument of coercion.
