NEW DELHI: India on Friday reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will remain in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India’s position on the 1960 treaty remains unchanged.
“The Indus Waters Treaty stands in abeyance in response to Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably abjure support for cross-border terrorism,” Jaiswal said.
India suspended the implementation of the World Bank-brokered treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack last year, maintaining that “blood and water cannot flow together.”
The MEA’s remarks came after Pakistan rejected what it described as India’s attempt to use water as a “strategic asset.” Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, accused India of using allegations of terrorism as a pretext to suspend the treaty and disrupt Pakistan’s share of river waters.
“Let this be very clear: the real issue is not terrorism. The real issue is the growing disposition within the Indian leadership to treat a shared international river system as a strategic asset that can be controlled, withheld or diverted at will,” Andrabi said.
Under the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty, the eastern rivers—Beas, Ravi and Sutlej—are allocated to India, while the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab—are allocated primarily to Pakistan. The agreement also permits India limited use of the western rivers for irrigation and non-consumptive purposes, including hydropower generation.
Speaking at an international seminar on the treaty on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described India’s decision to suspend the pact as the “weaponisation of water” and warned that it could have serious implications for regional peace and security.
At the same event, Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari compared India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance with blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Jaiswal also reiterated that dialogue with Pakistan cannot resume until it ends support for cross-border terrorism, effectively rejecting a recent appeal by a group of public figures from both countries calling for the resumption of bilateral talks.
The signatories to the appeal included former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief A.S. Dulat, and West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir.
