South Asia is experiencing a perilous and rapidly intensifying game of economic brinkmanship, with nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan potentially lurching towards a protracted confrontation with potentially dire repercussions.
Following the devastating Pahalgam incident, a diplomatic schism quickly turned into a high-stakes conflict characterized by retaliatory airspace closures, the possibility of a water embargo, and increasing disruption to supply networks and cross-border trade.
Fears of an unprecedented environmental and agricultural crisis downstream have been heightened by India’s threat to deny Pakistan access to shared water supplies, a move that calls into question the validity of the Indus Waters Treaty.
