TEHRAN -While politics has dominated the discourse around India-Pakistan relations, it is the water that has always threatened to derail their bilateral relations, pushing them to the brink of war.

The latest to join the chorus is Pakistan’s chief justice Saqib Nisar who on Sunday asked why India was stealing Pakistan’s water, saying that it won’t be allowed to do so.

The remarks were made by the country’s top judicial authority while hearing a petition in Supreme Court related to Ravi River and Abbasia Link Canal.

The chief justice asked if the Punjab government was aware of whether India was stealing water from the Ravi River, and if so, what steps had been taken to remedy the situation.

An official representing government informed that water was not being stolen by India, to which the chief justice ordered that an operation be conducted with police against those who steal water.

In 1960, India and Pakistan had signed a water distribution pact known as Indus Water Treat brokered by the World Bank. The deal took nine years of negotiations to be finalized before the control of six rivers was divided between the two nations.

Under this treaty, India got control over Beas, Ravi and Sutlej, while Pakistan got control over Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

Since these rivers do not originate from Pakistan but flow to the country through India, Pakistan has often accused India of stealing its waters.