Pakistan, June 19 -- Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar's keynote address played in Brussels came wrapped in the language of international law, but its message was unmistakable. Every passing day comes as yet another piece of evidence that India is no longer merely testing the limits of the Indus Waters Treaty but trying to change the facts of the basin altogether.

That is why the foreign minister's reference to 17 Indian projects on the Indus waterways deserves attention beyond South Asia. These projects include Sawalkot, Kirthai and Kwar on the Chenab, expansions at Baglihar and Salal, and diversion plans affecting the Indus, Chenab and Ravi. Seen separately, each may be described via buzzwords like hydropower, storage or energy demand. Seen t...