Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday emphasized that Pakistan’s 240 million citizens possess an “inalienable right” to water from the Indus River System.
“When we say that Indus is our lifeline and our people, the 240m people of Pakistan, have an inalienable right to the water of Indus, we mean it, from the core of our heart,” Tarar stated, underscoring the river’s significance to the nation.
The minister made these remarks during a seminar in Islamabad focused on the legal and constitutional framework of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a contentious water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan.
Tarar described the IWT as “an instrument of peace and regional stability.”
“Today, we are not merely discussing the treaty. We are discussing the lifeline of nearly 240 million people of Pakistan,” he said.
He further noted, “When we identify ourselves as Pakistanis, we ask a question as to who we are. And if you go back into history, the Indus water civilisation defines us as a people.”
“Whenever I go abroad, I always tell my counterparts that we are the people of the Indus Valley civilisation. Our identification is that we are people based on the banks and tributaries of the mighty Indus River.”
Addressing the strategic importance of water, Tarar stated that the Indus River system had nurtured one of the world’s oldest civilizations for thousands of years.
“From the towering peaks of Gilgit-Baltistan to the fertile plains of Punjab and Sindh, these waters have connected our people across geography and history,” he added.
The minister emphasized that for Pakistan, water represents not merely a resource but a fundamental element of existence, asserting that “Indus has given life to Pakistan.”
Tarar highlighted that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 holds a “unique place in international relations,” noting its endurance through wars, political upheavals, and periods of tension over more than six decades.
He concluded that the treaty’s resilience demonstrates that “cooperation, dialogue and adherence to international commitments remain the only sustainable path to peace.”