THE POLITICS OF WATER SHARING: ENVIRONMENTAL DIPLOMACY BETWEEN PAKISTAN AND INDIA

Abstract

The politics of water sharing between Pakistan and India remains one of the most critical and contested dimensions of South Asian environmental diplomacy. Both states depend heavily on the Indus River System for agriculture, industry, energy production, and daily human consumption, rendering water not merely a natural resource but a strategic and political asset. Following the partition of British India in 1947, disputes over river control intensified, culminating in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, brokered by the World Bank. The treaty has often been hailed as a rare success of transboundary water cooperation, surviving wars, military crises, and prolonged diplomatic hostility. However, contemporary developments, including climate change, demographic pressures, infrastructure expansion, and deteriorating political relations, have exposed structural weaknesses within the treaty framework. This paper critically examines the historical evolution of water politics between Pakistan and India, applies a liberal institutionalist theoretical framework to assess cooperation and conflict, and analyses the environmental, economic, political, and strategic implications of climate stress on the Indus Basin. Through case studies of the Baglihar Dam and Kishanganga Hydropower Project, the study evaluates the limits of environmental diplomacy and highlights the urgent need for adaptive, transparent, and climate-responsive governance mechanisms. The paper argues that strengthening environmental diplomacy is essential not only for water security but also for broader regional stability in South Asia.