The Union Jal Shakti ministry has informed the cabinet secretary that the Indus Waters Treaty would continue to be suspended “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.”

Debashree Mukherjee, the secretary of the ministry’s Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation, stated in its monthly report to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan that the government declared the treaty would be held in “abeyance” with immediate effect following the “Pakistan-sponsored” terror attack on civilians in Pahalgam.

“Until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably renounces its support for cross-border terrorism, the key water-sharing treaty will remain suspended,” Mukherjee said in her report. The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), mediated by the World Bank in 1960, regulated how India and Pakistan shared and used the Indus River and its tributaries. Syed Ali Murtaza, Pakistan’s secretary for water resources, reportedly said that his administration was willing to talk about the particular concerns brought up by New Delhi. The Indian administration is adamant about keeping the agreement on hold, however.