Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that at least 17 projects by India on waterways part of the Indus River System would give New Delhi the “tools for hydro-hegemony”. Dar’s statement has come at a time when water and the Indus Waters Treaty remain a contentious issue between India and Pakistan, following New Delhi’s unilateral abeyance of the accord last year — a move that followed a brief military conflict between the two sides in May 2025. More recently, Indian Water Minister CR Patil said his country was working to ensure “not a single drop of water” would flow into Pakistan.