New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs announced a number of drastic measures in response to the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty “with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irreversibly abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.”
What is the Indus Waters Treaty, however, and why is its suspension important? What response has the neighboring nation given to this action?
With the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory, India and Pakistan negotiated the Indus Waters Treaty for nine years before signing it in 1960. Former World Bank President Eugene Black started the discussions. For more than 50 years, it has served as a framework for the development of irrigation and hydropower and is regarded as one of the most successful international treaties. It has withstood many conflicts and tensions. According to former US President Dwight Eisenhower, it is “one bright spot… in a very depressing world picture that we see so often.”
The Treaty gives India control over the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) and Pakistan control over the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab). The Treaty also permits each nation to utilize the rivers that are allotted to it in certain ways. According to the treaty, Pakistan receives 80% of the water from the Indus River System, while India receives 20%.
The treaty’s preamble reads: “The Government of India and the Government of Pakistan, being equally desirous of attaining the most complete and satisfactory utilisation of the waters of the Indus system of rivers and recognising the need, therefore, of fixing and delimiting, in a spirit of goodwill and friendship, the rights and obligations of each in relation to the other concerning the use of these waters and of making provision for the settlement, in a cooperative spirit, of all such questions as may hereafter arise in regard to the interpretation or application of the provisions agreed upon herein, have resolved to conclude a Treaty in furtherance of these objectives, and for this purpose have named as their plenipotentiaries.”
The Permanent Indus Commission, which comprises a Commissioner from each nation, is a forum for collaboration and information sharing between the two nations over their usage of the rivers, according to the World Bank. “Questions” are addressed by the Commission, “differences” are to be settled by a Neutral Expert, and “disputes” are to be sent to an ad hoc arbitral tribunal known as the “Court of Arbitration.” The Treaty also lays out specific processes to tackle any problems.
The World Bank has a restricted and formal function as a signatory to the Treaty. Specifically, its function with regard to “differences” and “disputes” is restricted to assigning people to do specific tasks in the framework of neutral expert or court of arbitration procedures upon request from one or both parties.
India officially informed Pakistan in September 2024 of its plan to alter the Indus Water Treaty and requested revisions to the agreement. India sought to amend the pact because of the long-standing dispute over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower dams. Pakistan claimed that India’s construction of the 330-megawatt Kishanganga and 850-megawatt Ratle hydropower facilities violated the terms of the pact. India maintained that it had the right to construct these projects and that their design complied completely with the terms of the treaty.
Following the 2019 Pulwama assault, the Indus Waters Treaty came into sharp relief. Despite its continuous promotion of terrorism in India, the deal has been criticized for being too favorable to Pakistan. Water from the eastern rivers, which formerly flowed downstream to Pakistan, will now be redirected to Jammu and Kashmir and the Punjab area, according to a declaration made by Nitin Gadkari, the Union Water Resources Minister at the time.
Following the 2016 terror assault in Uri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that water and blood cannot run together. “Water and blood cannot flow together” means “Rakt aur paani ek saath nahin beh sakta.”
In reaction to the recent Pahalgam terror assault, India decided to suspend the Indus Water Treaty, but Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, vehemently objected. Asif said that the wording of the pact is unambiguous and charged India with attempting to circumvent it for years by using “various tricks and pretexts.”
Asif on X shared an image of the Indus Water Treaty’s clauses, writing, “These are the pertinent Indus Waters Treaty articles. There is no need to understand these clauses. They include the process for adding new clauses and changing the treaty. It is quite apparent what India can and cannot accomplish. Pakistan is subject to the same process as well. For many years, India has used a variety of ruses and pretexts to attempt to avoid this pact. It is just utilizing this regrettable act of terrorism to satisfy an ingrained need of its own.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the National Security Committee on Thursday morning to examine and address India’s actions, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in reaction to India’s declaration of harsh measures against Pakistan.
In a tweet on X, Dar wrote, “Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif @CMShehbaz has convened the meeting of the National Security Committee on Thursday morning, 24th April 2025, to respond to the Indian Government’s statement of this evening.”
Dawm said that National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq condemned the incident, expressed his sympathies, and criticized India’s “baseless and false” accusations against Pakistan.
“Indian animosity is evident in the swift accusations made against Pakistan after the event. India’s plot is intended to deflect attention away from the horrors occurring in Kashmir. “It is unacceptable that the Indus Waters Treaty was suspended following the false flag operation,” he said, calling on the international community to pay attention to India’s “dramatic tactics.” He further said that India intended to use such “vile propaganda” to undermine the Indus Water Treaty.
Fawad Chaudhry, a former minister of information, science, and technology, said that the Indus Water Treaty and international law were broken by its suspension.
“India under international law cannot put the Indian Basin treaty in abeyance; it will be a gross violation of treaty law. this childish decision will affect only the poor farmers of Punjab and Sindh,” Chaudhry said on X.
In the meanwhile, the treaty has long been used as a confidence-building measure (CBM) in India-Pakistan ties, according to Michael Kugelman, Director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute.
Kugelman shared a post on X that said, “The importance of suspending the IWT cannot be overstated. This has never occurred before. In addition to being a successful example of transboundary water agreements in an area where there aren’t many effective ones, it has been a reliable CBM for India-Pakistan ties.
In addition to abstaining from the Indus Water Treaty, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) made five important decisions.
“The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi has proclaimed its Defence/Military, Naval, and Air Advisors Persona Non Grata. They may depart India in a week. The Indian High Commission in Islamabad will no longer have its own defense, navy, and air advisors. These positions are considered revoked in their respective High Commissions. Additionally, five of the Service Advisors’ support workers would be removed from both High Commissions, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. Additionally, he said that the Attari Integrated Check Post would be shut down immediately.
The terrorists’ heinous assault on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on Tuesday claimed the lives of up to 26 persons.
Terrorists carried out one of the bloodiest attacks in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama incident, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans, at Baisaran Meadow in Pahalgam on Tuesday. Following the repeal of Article 370 in 2019, the incident was among the most significant acts of terrorism in the area.
