Securitization and International Challenges on Water in South Asia: A case study of Pakistan

Today, non-traditional security threats, including water scarcity and flood are one of the most important issues that have caused concern in different parts of the world. However, it is not just the physical dimension of the water which worries the countries, but the political aspect of water also posing a threat to different regions of the world so that today countries link water challenges to their national security. One of those areas facing threats on trans-boundary waters is South Asia. Pakistan is one of the countries in South Asia which has linked its shared waters with India to its national security and securitized Indian water activities on the Indus river. Therefore, this paper intends to examine Pakistan’s activities on the securitization of India’s water activities on the Indus River through theory of securitization. The findings of this study show that Pakistani actors have used linguistic structures, including framing and metaphor, to securitize their shared river waters with India.