New Delhi: Pakistan has formally asked India to reconsider its suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, stating that such a move could lead to a regional crisis, according to a report by India Today. The request comes in the wake of India’s decision to put the 1960 water-sharing agreement on hold after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 25 Indians and one Nepali national.
The appeal was reportedly made through a communication from Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, urging a reversal of what Islamabad considers a destabilizing step.
India Links Treaty Suspension to Cross-Border Terrorism
India suspended the treaty following a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which assessed Pakistan’s ongoing support for terrorism. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made it clear that India views the treaty as having been undermined by Pakistan’s actions.
“The Indus Waters Treaty was concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship as specified in the preamble of the treaty. However, Pakistan has held these principles in abeyance by its promotion of cross-border terrorism for decades,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing.
The treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, divides the Indus river system between the two nations, assigning the eastern rivers to India and the western rivers to Pakistan. Despite multiple wars and hostilities, the pact has remained intact until now.
‘Blood and Water Cannot Flow Together,' Says PM Modi
India’s tougher stance on the treaty comes after Operation Sindoor, a precision military attack on the terror camps in Paksitan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, launched in response to the Pahalgam massacre.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a national address, reinforced the government's position and said, “Terror and talks cannot happen at the same time. Terror and trade cannot happen simultaneously. Water and blood cannot flow together.”
New Delhi has further signaled that any future dialogue with Islamabad will focus solely on terrorism and the return of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
