Pakistan, July 27 -- As the first rays of sunlight spread across the lush rice fields of DI Khan, 48-year-old farmer Adnan Khan steps barefoot into ankle-deep water, guiding labourers and family members as they carefully transplant young rice seedlings amid worries of years-long Indus Water Treaty (IWT) violations by India.

The routine of rice sowing in last week of July has remained unchanged for generations, but this year, an unfamiliar sense of uncertainty hangs over every row of green shoots. Like thousands of farmers across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Adnan worried that uncertainty surrounding the IWT and future Indus River flows could affect the crop that sustained his family and the rural economy for over six decades. Standing on the edge...