Signal Over 80% of Pakistani agriculture depends on Indian-controlled headwaters

Summary

Eurasia Group reports that over 80% of farming in Pakistan relies on water from the Indus basin. India's position upstream gives it control over that flow. Islamabad has cautioned that any attempt to divert the water would be regarded as an act of war. Since India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in 2025, water has become a potent new weapon in the conflict between the two countries. The report stresses that because both rivals have nuclear weapons, this dependence raises the stakes of any future crisis.