Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) said that water was the “lifeblood” of the region and it must never be weaponised.
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in the Kyrgyz capital, Mr.
Sharif also said that the region cannot “realise its full potential without lasting peace,” Dawn reported.
Pakistan is set to assume the chairmanship of the SCO’s Council of Heads of State for 2026–27, with next year’s CHS summit to be hosted by Islamabad. “Water is the lifeblood of our region. “The treaties governing our shared waters are solemn, binding international commitments. They are not matters of political convenience to be cast aside at your will. They must be honoured unconditionally, in both letter and spirit,” Mr. Pakistan had approached the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in March this year to determine the status of the treaty virtually challenging India’s action. On the issue of terrorism, Mr.
It sustains millions of lives, nourishes our land and secures the very future of our coming generations,” he said, highlighting the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Sharif said. India has never recognised the “existence in law of this illegally-constituted and so-called Court of Arbitration”, and has always said the “very establishment of this alleged arbitral body constitutes a grave violation of the Indus Waters Treaty”. Sharif said it remained “one of the gravest threats that has affected our entire region in its various forms and manifestations”. As chair of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, Pakistan has “worked actively to strengthen regional counter-terrorism cooperation,” he said. “As Pakistan assumes the chairmanship of the SCO, we are proposing an excellent plan that will prioritise key sectors, including IT and AI, energy development, poverty reduction, disaster management, health, culture and sports,” Mr. Sharif said in his address.
