India-Pakistan Dialogue Urged by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Amid Water Treaty Warning
| 2025-05-16
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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister calls for renewed talks with India, warning that any move to block the Indus Waters Treaty would be seen as an “act of war”.
India-Pakistan Dialogue Sought as Indus Waters Treaty Tensions Rise
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for a comprehensive political dialogue with India to resolve longstanding disputes, while cautioning that any unilateral move by India to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty could be perceived by Islamabad as an “act of war”.
Speaking before Pakistan’s Senate on 15 May, Mr Dar stated that a ceasefire agreement with India has been extended until 18 May. He emphasised that a political process is essential to address the many contentious issues between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Tensions between the two countries flared following the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, India, in which 26 civilians were killed. Indian authorities linked the incident to Pakistan-based militant groups. In response, India launched air and drone strikes targeting suspected terror infrastructure inside Pakistan under an operation it named “Sindoor”.
Call for Dialogue and Military Contact
Mr Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, reiterated Islamabad’s intention to resume a “composite dialogue” with New Delhi. This refers to a multi-pronged framework for bilateral talks originally launched in 2003. The framework includes discussions on a range of disputes, such as border issues, terrorism, trade, and the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have told the world that we will hold a composite dialogue,” Mr Dar said in Parliament.
He also confirmed that the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from both sides are scheduled to speak again on 18 May, part of an ongoing effort to de-escalate military tensions following four days of cross-border strikes earlier this month.
Indus Waters Treaty in Focus
The Pakistani Foreign Minister issued a sharp warning over India’s recent decision to suspend certain elements of the Indus Waters Treaty. Signed in 1960 with the assistance of the World Bank, the treaty governs the shared use of rivers between the two countries and has been regarded as one of the most enduring agreements despite repeated hostilities.
Mr Dar described any disruption to the treaty as a “serious provocation”, stating that “any attempt to block Pakistan’s water would be treated as an act of war”.
The Indus Waters Treaty has survived multiple wars and crises, but it has increasingly come under strain as bilateral ties deteriorate. India has not officially withdrawn from the agreement, but the current suspension of engagement over the treaty follows the recent escalation in violence and diplomatic strain.
India’s Stance on Talks
India, however, has ruled out comprehensive talks with Pakistan unless it addresses concerns over cross-border terrorism. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated on the same day that dialogue with Islamabad would focus solely on Pakistan’s alleged support for militant groups operating across the border.
“Pakistan has a list of terrorists, who need to be handed over. They have to shut down terrorist infrastructure, they know what to do,” Mr Jaishankar said, adding that New Delhi remains opposed to any third-party mediation.
The Indian government maintains that any future talks will be held bilaterally and will exclude discussions on Jammu and Kashmir or other disputed issues not related to terrorism.
History of Strained Relations
The call for dialogue comes against a backdrop of decades of conflict and mistrust between India and Pakistan. Relations were severely damaged after a series of terror attacks on Indian soil, including the 2016 assault on the Pathankot Air Force base and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, which killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel.
In response to the Pulwama attack, Indian jets targeted a militant training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, marking a rare aerial confrontation between the two countries.
Tensions further escalated in August 2019 when India revoked the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and split the region into two federally governed territories.
Context: Composite Dialogue Framework.
The “composite dialogue” mechanism mentioned by Mr Dar was first introduced in 2003 during the tenure of former Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf. The process comprised eight key areas of engagement, including Siachen, Sir Creek, trade, and people-to-people exchanges.
The process was disrupted after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which over 160 people were killed. The attacks, carried out by Pakistan-based militants, led India to suspend formal talks. Since then, only sporadic contacts have occurred, mostly at the level of military officials or in the margins of international summits.
Despite brief periods of reduced hostilities, such as a ceasefire agreement reached in 2021 along the Line of Control, relations have remained largely frozen.
The recent Pahalgam attack and India’s subsequent military response, including the multi-day “Operation Sindoor”, marked the most serious escalation since 2019.
Looking Ahead
With the ceasefire now extended temporarily and military channels of communication set to reopen, Islamabad appears keen to revive broader political engagement. However, with New Delhi maintaining a firm stance on limiting talks to counterterrorism, the prospects for a full diplomatic thaw remain uncertain.
The role of longstanding agreements such as the Indus Waters Treaty is likely to remain a flashpoint if political relations continue to stagnate. While both countries have avoided full-scale war in recent years, the repeated cycles of violence and stalled diplomacy suggest that without substantive dialogue, peace remains fragile.
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