The Indus Waters Treaty Is Becoming South Asia’s Next Strategic Flashpoint

Aug 20, 2026 | Saima Afzal
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For more than six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has been one of the world’s most durable examples of cooperation between adversarial neighbors. Signed in 1960 under World Bank facilitation, the treaty survived wars, military crises, diplomatic breakdowns, and decades of political mistrust between India and Pakistan. While bilateral relations repeatedly deteriorated, the treaty continued to provide a predictable legal and institutional framework for managing one of South Asia’s most critical shared resources. Today, that framework faces its greatest test.