ANTALYA (The Thursday Times) — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told world leaders at the COP31 climate summit on Thursday that water “must never be weaponised”, and called for grant-based finance for countries hit hardest by climate disasters.
“Water must never be weaponised. No nation should be allowed to put the lives and livelihoods of people downstream at risk. Water-sharing agreements must be honoured in letter and spirit,” he said in Pakistan’s address to the leaders’ summit in Antalya.
He did not name India. New Delhi placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in April 2025, a step Pakistan rejects. This week, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the treaty cannot be ended by one side.
Finance that does not deepen debt
“When climate disasters strike, vulnerable countries need timely help and finance that does not deepen their debt,” the prime minister said. He called for grant-based finance, including public-private partnerships, and a large increase in adaptation and resilience funds, which he described as “survival funds” for struggling economies.
He recalled the 2022 floods, which submerged about a third of Pakistan, affected about 33 million people, killed more than 1,700, and caused losses of more than $30 billion. “Four years ago at the United Nations, I warned that what happens in Pakistan will not stay in Pakistan,” he said. “Unfortunately, that warning has become a stark reality.”
He said Pakistan produces less than one per cent of global carbon emissions but remains among the countries most exposed to climate disasters, and thanked Türkiye for its help during the 2022 floods.
Second address in Antalya
The speech followed his remarks on Wednesday to a dialogue on the clean energy transition, where he said Pakistan would need about $138 billion by 2035 for low-carbon power.
