Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar opened the Margalla Dialogue in Islamabad on Tuesday with an unequivocal warning against the weaponisation of water, pledging to defend Pakistan’s rights under the Indus Waters Treaty. Addressing an international gathering of diplomats, academics and strategic experts, he called for greater cooperation in a world increasingly unsettled by military confrontation and economic rivalries. The message could scarcely be more pertinent. When even decades-old agreements are being held hostage to political disputes, Pakistan’s insistence on diplomacy backed by international law deserves serious attention. The Indus Waters Treaty offers a particularly telling example. Signed in 1960, it survived wars and decades of hostility before India placed it in abeyance in April 2025. New Delhi’s position suffered a significant legal setback on August 31, when a Court of Arbitration unanimously ruled that the treaty remained fully in force and imposed interim restrictions on specified construction work at the Ratle hydropower project. India, however, continues to reject the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
Water, after all, is no ordinary bargaining chip. The Indus system sustains Pakistan’s agriculture, feeds its canals and underpins livelihoods across the country. Dar was therefore right to place water security alongside regional stability. Whatever the political differences between Islamabad and New Delhi, turning shared rivers into instruments of pressure is a dangerous road to travel. The wider Margalla Dialogue, organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, offers an opportunity to examine precisely such challenges. Its agenda ranges from the shifting global balance of power and competition between West and South Asia to economic security, technology and international law. With thinkers including John Mearsheimer, Vali Nasr, Victor Gao and Robin Raphel on the programme, Islamabad has brought competing perspectives under one roof. Particularly noteworthy is the inclusion of Indian defence analyst Pravin Sawhney in a discussion on regional connectivity and competition, especially when official exchanges between the neighbours remain strained.
There are encouraging regional signals as well. Bangladesh’s intelligence chief has reportedly travelled to Islamabad for the gathering, while the conference programme also features a senior representative of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies. Such engagement offers opportunities to widen conversations between countries whose relations have long carried the weight of history. Dar also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace without compromising its sovereignty.
His remarks on Afghanistan-based terrorism, Kashmir and the defensive character of the Makkah agreement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye reflected Islamabad’s attempt to balance deterrence with diplomacy. The continuing Iran conflict has made that balancing act particularly delicate. Islamabad has rightly positioned itself as a meeting place for difficult conversations. The greater achievement will lie in translating those conversations into practical cooperation. In a neighbourhood where mistrust has too often had the last word, keeping diplomacy alive is worthwhile. Giving it results would be even better.
