'India's letter to Pakistan on April 24 (2025; two days after the Pahalgam terrorist attack) didn't tear up the treaty -- but it did put it on ice.'
Experts discuss the Indus Waters Treaty, highlighting its engineering aspects and addressing criticisms of unfairness to India.
India has asserted that the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan will remain in "abeyance" until Islamabad "credibly and irrevocably" abjures support to cross-border terrorism. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that any bilateral talks with Islamabad will only be on vacation of illegally occupied territories of Kashmir by Pakistan. He also said that India is open to discussing the handing over of terrorists whose list was provided to Pakistan some years ago. India on April 23 announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
The talks as part of the annual Permanent Indus Commission meeting are being held after a gap of over two years.
'Make no mistake, depriving water deliberately to a nation of 190 million people is a repugnant idea.' 'The world community won't forgive us.'
The court said that it has perused the entire petition and does not wish to agree with it.
Pakistan has urged India to fully adhere to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), expressing concerns about the level of detail in flood information shared through diplomatic channels.
Pakistan has reiterated its desire for normal neighbourly relations with India, while also criticizing India's decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. The Foreign Office spokesperson emphasized Pakistan's commitment to diplomacy and regional cooperation.
The meeting in Delhi will continue on Tuesday as well, according to the Pakistani high commission.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for maximum restraint between India and Pakistan following a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Guterres' spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that the UN chief is following the situation "very closely and with very great concern." Dujarric also stated that any issues between the two countries "can and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement." India has downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the terror attack.
'What Modisaab will accomplish by tampering with the treaty is providing ammunition to ultra-nationalist right wing elements within Pakistan who see India as an existential threat.'
India's Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday to discuss the security situation arising from escalating tensions with Pakistan. The meeting comes after a similar briefing by the Navy Chief on the situation in the Arabian Sea. This follows a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, which India has blamed on Pakistan. India has taken several retaliatory measures, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and banning imports from Pakistan.
China on Tuesday called for a 'comprehensive and lasting ceasefire' between India and Pakistan, urging both countries to properly handle their differences through dialogue.
The US has issued a 'Do Not Travel' advisory for Jammu and Kashmir citing potential for terrorist attacks and violent civil unrest. The advisory, issued on Wednesday, comes a day after a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The advisory also warns against traveling within 10 kilometers of the India-Pakistan border.
'China could intentionally release excess water.' 'The North East is already flood-prone during the monsoon, and even a controlled release from Chinese dams (during the monsoon) could worsen flooding.'
'If there is a military standoff eyeball to eyeball on the western border, the Chinese could create problems by making movements in the north, in our northeast, which could involve us tying down some forces there so that could stretch our military actions.'
Luckily for us, a Russia that is desperate to stay relevant in an emerging multipolar world finds in India a reliable geostrategic partner. The Russian proximity to India also keeps China from exploiting its economic dominance vis a vis Russia, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Pakistan cannot sustain a war with India for more than four days. They are in such dire straits. At best they can sustain war for one week.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed Rahul Gandhi for his 'surrender' barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it is not only a grave insult to the armed forces and country but also no less than treason.
'Operation Sindoor is still ongoing. The Prime Minister himself said that blood and water cannot flow together, that talks and terrorism cannot go together. So how can we have a cricket match with a country that indulges in terrorism?'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discusses India's approach to cross-border terrorism following the Pahalgam attack, emphasizing a firm response and no compromise on nuclear blackmail.
India shouldn't play Pakistan even at ICC events till terrorism ends: Gambhir
'Trump's sons, and the son of Trump's Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff, are in the crypto business and recently signed deals with Pakistan's crypto council.' 'It may not be coincidental that not long before the Trump-Munir meeting, the head of Pakistan's crypto council met with Trump's White House crypto policy czar.'
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Pakistan criticised the laying of foundation stones for the construction of the Rattle and Kwar Hydroelectric Projects on the Chenab River in Kashmir.
'Pakistan is economically very weak and will not be able to sustain a war for long.'
UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres expressed concern over the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, calling for maximum restraint and urging both countries to step back from the brink. Guterres offered his "good offices" to both governments in the service of peace and condemned the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, emphasizing the need to bring those responsible to justice. He also stressed that a military confrontation would be detrimental and could easily spin out of control. His remarks came hours before a closed consultation of the UN Security Council on the matter, requested by Pakistan. The UN Secretary-General highlighted the need for de-escalation, diplomacy, and a renewed commitment to peace.
In the India-Pakistan situations, off-ramps have come either through foreign mediation (after months of kinetic warfare over Kargil, and a long stand-off with Op Parakram) or when a situation made it possible for both sides to claim a win, explains Shekhar Gupta.
'Whatever we do, the purpose will be to re-establish deterrence.'
India has accused Pakistan of breaching an understanding reached earlier on Saturday to stop military actions. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said there have been repeated violations of the understanding since the evening, and that the Indian armed forces are giving an appropriate response.
The announcement on expansion of CPEC was made following a meeting among Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Beijing, according to a Pakistani readout.
'Surgical strikes or air strikes, or both, are likely on the table.'
India needs to be technologically and militarily prepared to defend itself from both Pakistan and China, alerts Ramesh Menon.
He said India was planning to build projects on three rivers flowing into Pakistan to use its share of water.
'He is intrigued by the intractability of Kashmir issue. With his interest in dealmaking and peacebrokering, he sees it as an exciting challenge to tackle.'
'It could be the Pakistan army's commercial interest, tactical or strategic interest or one of their leaders.' 'Even if you send a message that we have attempted to kill one of the Pakistani generals, that itself will serve the purpose.'
It will be for the first time in nearly nine years India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
'If there is a background of some kind of mutual understanding on how the dialogue process might develop in a mutually satisfactory manner...' 'If this understanding impacts positively on the ground situation...' 'As of now this is a heroic assumption. But it does not have to remain such.'
'No prime minister of India is averse to normalise relations with Pakistan, if it is possible to do so without altering our fundamental position on Jammu and Kashmir,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Amid growing strain in India-Pakistan ties, the government is planning to fast-track four projects in Indus river basin to increase irrigation area in Jammu and Kashmir by nearly 2.05 lakh acres, weeks after India decided to "exploit to the maximum" the water of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including Jhelum, as per Indus Water Treaty.
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