As tensions between India and Pakistan place one of the world’s most consequential water-sharing agreements under renewed scrutiny, Pakistani researcher Rashida Abbas is advancing an international dialogue on water justice, the rule of law and the protection of communities whose lives depend on shared rivers.
GENEVA, Switzerland | 8 November 2026 — Water has long been a source of cooperation between nations, sustaining communities across borders even when political relations have deteriorated. Yet, as geopolitical tensions intensify and climate pressures reshape the global landscape, the possibility of water becoming an instrument of political leverage is emerging as one of the most consequential challenges facing international diplomacy.
At the centre of this debate is the Indus Waters Treaty, the historic agreement governing the distribution of river waters between India and Pakistan. Its future has become increasingly uncertain following India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance in April 2025, raising far-reaching questions about international legal obligations, regional stability and the human rights of millions of people who depend on the Indus river system.
In Geneva, a city closely associated with international diplomacy, humanitarian principles and the development of international law, Pakistani legal scholar and University of Geneva doctoral researcher Rashida Abbas is working to bring these concerns into a broader global conversation.
Her efforts seek to move the discussion beyond the traditional boundaries of interstate disputes, placing the dignity, security and fundamental rights of affected populations at the forefront of international water governance.
A Historic Treaty Confronts a New Political Reality
Signed in 1960 with the involvement of the World Bank, the Indus Waters Treaty has endured decades of political confrontation and military conflict between India and Pakistan. By establishing arrangements for the use of six major rivers, the agreement has provided an important framework for managing one of South Asia’s most strategically significant shared water systems.
That framework entered a period of profound uncertainty on 23 April 2025, when India announced that it would hold the treaty in abeyance following a deadly attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi cited concerns over cross-border terrorism, while Pakistan rejected the decision and maintained that India had no legal authority to suspend its obligations unilaterally.
The disagreement subsequently developed into a significant question of international treaty law.
On 31 August 2026, a Court of Arbitration constituted under the treaty issued an award concluding that India’s decision to place the agreement in abeyance did not provide a lawful basis for suspending or terminating its operation. The tribunal determined that the treaty remained in force and that India continued to be bound by its obligations.
India rejected the tribunal’s jurisdiction and findings, maintaining its position that the treaty remained in abeyance.
The opposing positions illustrate the legal and diplomatic complexity surrounding the dispute. Beyond questions of treaty interpretation and state sovereignty, however, lies an equally pressing concern: the potential human consequences of disrupting established arrangements governing a vital natural resource.
From Geopolitical Dispute to Human Rights Concern
For communities dependent on the Indus basin, water security is inseparable from everyday survival.
The river system supports agriculture, employment, food production and essential economic activity across large parts of Pakistan. Predictable river flows, timely hydrological information and effective flood-warning arrangements are therefore not merely technical matters. They are fundamental safeguards for livelihoods and public safety.
Concerns about the possible human rights implications of the dispute have also reached the United Nations.
In a communication dated October 2025, five UN human rights experts raised concerns about the potential consequences of actions that could disrupt water flows to Pakistan. They identified possible risks to a range of internationally recognised rights, including access to water and food, livelihoods, an adequate standard of living and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
These concerns do not, by themselves, establish that deliberate water manipulation has occurred. Allegations of such conduct require independent evidence and careful examination. Nevertheless, the uncertainty surrounding transboundary water arrangements can increase the vulnerability of communities already facing environmental and economic pressures.
The central question is no longer confined to which state possesses particular rights over a shared river. It increasingly concerns how international law can prevent political confrontation from undermining the basic rights of populations whose survival depends on that river.
A Geneva-Based Initiative for Water Justice
It is within this wider international context that Rashida Abbas is seeking to strengthen the connection between legal scholarship, international policy and human rights advocacy.
On 29 October 2026, Abbas organised and moderated an international webinar entitled Water Justice, International Law and Transboundary Cooperation, bringing together specialists from different legal, diplomatic and academic backgrounds.
The gathering included Dr Mara Tignino, Scientific Director of the Geneva Water Hub and a scholar at the University of Geneva; Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah, Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters; Professor Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal; South African legal scholar Ramona Maria Grewan; and Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.
By bringing together expertise in international law, water governance, regional security and human rights, the initiative created a platform for examining how shared water resources can be managed through cooperation rather than confrontation.
The dialogue also underscored Geneva’s continuing relevance as a meeting point for international expertise and policy discussions concerning challenges that extend beyond national boundaries.
For Abbas, the broader objective is to encourage an approach to transboundary water governance that treats legal accountability, human security and peaceful cooperation as mutually reinforcing principles.
Empowering a New Generation of Water Justice Researchers
Alongside her engagement with international experts, Abbas is advancing the Hydro-Justice Student Research & Policy Fellowship 2026, an initiative designed to connect emerging scholars with specialists working on international water governance.
The fellowship focuses on transboundary water cooperation, climate justice, international dispute settlement and the relationship between environmental governance and fundamental human rights.
Its emphasis on research and policy engagement reflects a growing recognition that future water challenges will require expertise extending across legal, environmental, diplomatic and humanitarian disciplines.
By encouraging younger researchers to undertake practical legal analysis and develop evidence-based policy recommendations, the programme seeks to contribute to a new generation of professionals capable of addressing water-related tensions through constructive international engagement.
Such initiatives are particularly relevant at a time when competition over freshwater resources is becoming increasingly intertwined with climate change, population pressures and regional political instability.
Europe Recognises Water Security as a Peace and Security Priority
The concerns surrounding the Indus basin are part of a much wider international debate.
On 17 June 2026, the European Parliament adopted a recommendation advocating stronger transnational water governance as a means of preventing conflict and promoting peace.
The recommendation called for water-related risks to be more fully integrated into European foreign, security and development policies, recognising water stress as a significant geopolitical, humanitarian and security concern.
This development reflects an important shift in international policy thinking: access to water is increasingly being recognised not simply as an environmental or development issue, but as an essential element of conflict prevention and international stability.
European experience with shared river systems, including the Rhine and the Danube, offers useful examples of how institutional cooperation, information exchange and established governance mechanisms can help manage competing national interests.
Although the political and geographical circumstances of South Asia differ considerably from those of Europe, the underlying principle remains relevant: shared natural resources require dependable institutions, transparent communication and respect for agreed legal frameworks.
When such mechanisms weaken, the consequences may extend far beyond the immediate political dispute.
Water Security Must Rise Above Political Confrontation
The Indus Waters Treaty dispute illustrates a challenge that the international community can no longer afford to consider in purely bilateral terms.
As climate change intensifies pressure on freshwater resources, the possibility of water becoming a source of political coercion or regional instability demands greater attention from governments, international institutions and human rights mechanisms.
Effective international water cooperation requires more than the formal existence of agreements. It depends on sustained political commitment, reliable scientific information, good-faith engagement and credible mechanisms for resolving disagreements.
Equally important is the recognition that the civilian populations dependent on shared rivers must not become casualties of disputes between states.
The work being advanced by Rashida Abbas in Geneva contributes to this wider discussion by connecting the Indus dispute with international legal principles and the universal importance of water security.
Her initiatives also demonstrate how academic research and international dialogue can help keep the human consequences of geopolitical decisions visible within policy debates.
Ultimately, the future of international water governance will be measured not only by the durability of treaties or the resolution of diplomatic disagreements, but by the ability of nations to protect the people whose lives those agreements were designed to sustain.
Water may cross political borders, but the fundamental rights of those who depend on it must remain beyond political bargaining.
In an increasingly water-stressed world, safeguarding that principle is not merely an environmental necessity. It is an obligation of international cooperation, a matter of human dignity and an essential foundation for lasting peace.
