Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya responded forcefully to prior statements made by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari accusing India of “weaponizing” water and breaking the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) at the World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar, on November 5, 2025.
Mandaviya denounced Zardari’s remarks as an exploitation of an international forum intended to divert attention away from development challenges by disseminating false information against India.
Mandaviya emphasized that via persistent animosity and cross-border terrorism, Pakistan had compromised the spirit of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. He charged Pakistan with frequently abusing treaty processes to impede India’s lawful water management infrastructure projects. The minister adamantly declared that every project undertaken by India complies completely with the terms of the treaty.
In 1960, the World Bank mediated the Indus Waters Treaty, which grants India use of the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) and Pakistan use of the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab). Following a terror incident in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that resulted in 26 fatalities, India suspended the treaty “in abeyance” earlier this year, citing persistent security threats from terror groups based in Pakistan.
In response to Zardari’s allegations that India’s actions denied millions of Pakistanis their rightful water rights and that water was being used as a weapon, Mandaviya argued that Pakistan had no right to comment on India’s internal affairs, including the status of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in light of Islamabad’s cross-border terrorism policy. He called on Pakistan to reflect and concentrate on its major developmental issues, which he claimed have made the country reliant on foreign help.
Mandaviya highlighted India’s own success by citing the country’s transformative social development accomplishments during the previous ten years. He pointed out that welfare integration, digital innovation, and reforms have pulled about 250 million Indians out of multidimensional poverty.
Additionally, more than 800 million people enjoy food security, 118 million schoolchildren receive wholesome midday meals, 425 million individuals have access to health care, and more than 37 million low-income households have received housing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” (“Together we all, Development for all”), is credited by Mandaviya with reiterating India’s commitment to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
In his speech on November 4, Zardari compared the struggles for survival and dignity in Palestine and Kashmir, calling them “two sides of the same coin.” In his remarks, he also charged that India had violated the IWT after suspending the agreement in reaction to terrorist attacks.
In addition to depriving Pakistanis of vital water resources, he alerted the international community to the threat this breach posed to regional stability.
India’s response through Mandaviya was direct and all-encompassing, portraying Pakistan as the entity obstructing peace and progress by hostile actions and disinformation on a global scale. In light of India’s impressive track record of social advancement, the minister urged Pakistan to focus on its internal development issues rather than internationalizing bilateral problems.
The growing tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and the management of shared water resources are highlighted by this diplomatic discussion. It also shows how, in the midst of ongoing conflict and geopolitical rivalry, both sides use international venues to portray their narratives.
