'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 suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with immediate effect, accusing Pakistan of breaching the pact by refusing to negotiate modifications and engaging in sustained cross-border terrorism. The decision follows a recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people. Pakistan has rejected India's move, calling it an "act of war."
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 Indus system of rivers comprises the main river -- the Indus -- along with its five left bank tributaries, namely, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej, the Jhelum and the Chenab. The right bank tributary, the Kabul, does not flow through India.
Weeks after India placed the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan has signalled its willingness to discuss New Delhi's long-standing concerns about the treaty, sources said.
The talks as part of the annual Permanent Indus Commission meeting are being held after a gap of over two years.
The Standing Committee on Water Resources has recommended renegotiating the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan to address the impact of climate change on water availability in the river basin and other challenges which are not covered under the agreement.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the terror attack.
The MEA said that Pakistan had been stonewalling India's requests for a government-to-government negotiation over the treaty due to changes in the ground situation since it was signed.
The government has finalised the details of a task force on Indus Water Treaty, which will be formed within one week, with the aim to stop river waters going waste in Pakistan.
Pakistan has responded to a letter by India asking to start negotiations for the review of the Indus Water Treaty, the foreign office said on Wednesday.
Surprised at the World Bank's decision to appoint a neutral expert, as sought by the Indian government, and at the same time establish a Court of Arbitration as wanted by Pakistan, India said proceeding with both the steps simultaneously "legally untenable".
According to sources, Union water resources ministry officials gave a presentation to the prime minister on the treaty and the projects involved.
The Pakistani delegation, in its meetings with World Bank officials, insisted on early appointment of the judges and setting up the court.
A simple explainer to the Indus Water Treaty.
'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.
India has issued a notice to Pakistan for modification of the Indus Waters Treaty of September 1960 following Islamabad's "intransigence" on its implementation
Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said in a statement that the US report "Avoiding water wars in South and Central Asia," released on February 22, acknowledges that dams India is building in Jammu and Kashmir "will limit supply of water to Pakistan at crucial moments."
The sources said India has always been a steadfast supporter and a responsible partner in implementing the IWT in letter and spirit.
"I do not think they (World Bank) are in a position to interpret the treaty for us. It is a treaty between our two countries and our assessment of the treaty is that there is a provision of graded approach," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
The talks will be the first official engagement between India and Pakistan since Khan became prime minister on August 18.
Experts say the treaty needs a review to address the ongoing and the likely impact of climate change on river-flow
Pakistan will take up with India 'certain violations' of the provisions of a 1960 treaty in water projects, being constructed by the neighbouring country on Chenab and Jhelum rivers, during External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Islamabad in May.Design changes in the water projects being built by India go beyond the provisions of the Treaty and Pakistan is making efforts for their rectification. The Indus Waters Treaty gave Pakistan the rights to the rivers.
The World Bank's move came as it told the two countries that it was responding to their separate proceedings initiated under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960.
The 40-year-old Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan has been an outstanding example of conflict resolution but scarcity of water in the basin states since the early 1990s has brought the agreement under strain and its "survival appears weak", according to a UN report.
"Pakistan will not accept any modifications or changes to the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. Our position is based on the principles enshrined in the treaty. And the treaty must be honoured in... letter and spirit," Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi told Dawn News.
Pak warned of "appropriate action" if India violates the Indus Water Treaty and said it is closely monitoring the situation, amid reports that New Delhi may revisit the key water sharing accord.
Pakistan has written to India seeking information about the Svalkot hydroelectric project on the River Chenab, according to the Foreign Office spokesperson.
India to exploit to the maximum the capacity of Pak-controlled rivers -- Indus, Chenab, Jhelum as per the Indus Treat, source said.
"The treaty has caused huge loss to Jammu and Kashmir" as the people of the state cannot fully utilise the waters of various rivers, particularly Chenab in Jammu, for agricultural and other activities, Singh said.
The Centre is planning to undertake a study to look into ways to maximise the use of the quantum of water from the three rivers that Pakistan had earlier used under the Indus Water Treaty, now that the agreement has been suspended, officials said.
Aziz said unilateral revocation of the treaty can pose a threat to Pakistan and its economy.
India's measures announced against Pakistan on April 23 will remain effective, the sources said.
The statement of the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office comes on the heels of India issuing a notice to Pakistan seeking a review and modification of the IWT in view of Islamabad's "intransigence" in complying with the dispute redressal mechanism of the pact that was inked over six decades ago for sharing of waters of cross-border rivers.
Because of the treaty, no big dams or power projects can be built by India on Jhelum, Indus or Chenab.
A Pakistani senator has warned that India's approval of a hydel power project on the Chenab River will further inflame tensions between the two countries, particularly in light of the suspended Indus Waters Treaty.
Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday said his country will go to war if India denies Islamabad its fair share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
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