Pakistan has recently urged India to review its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), citing the critical dependence of millions on the river system, according to a Times of India report. This appeal came shortly after a ceasefire understanding was reached between the two nations, following a four-day military confrontation.
India had announced several punitive measures on April 23 in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people, primarily tourists. These measures included suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari integrated check post, and reducing diplomatic staff in Pakistani high commissions in India.
As per the report, Pakistan’s Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza addressed the appeal to his Indian counterpart Debashree Mukherjee. The letter, reportedly conveyed during Operation Sindoor, termed India’s decision “unilateral and illegal” and equated it to “an attack on the people of Pakistan and its economy.”
The recent military conflict had escalated after Pakistan targeted Indian military and civilian infrastructure, following Indian strikes on terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
On Tuesday, India reaffirmed that the ceasefire would not alter the punitive measures, including the suspension of the treaty. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified that the IWT will remain in abeyance until Pakistan verifiably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
A senior Indian official cited in the report emphasized that while the treaty was conceived in the spirit of goodwill, Pakistan’s continued sheltering of terrorists undermines the foundational trust that sustained it. “The treaty was always skewed against India, yet we upheld it in the hope of cooperation. That premise no longer stands,” the official said.
In his national address post-Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referenced the treaty’s suspension, declaring, “Water and blood cannot flow together.”
India, in its official communication to Pakistan, stated that Islamabad’s persistent cross-border terrorism violates the treaty’s terms and obstructs India’s rights under the agreement.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, outlines water sharing and cooperation between India and Pakistan over the Indus River and its five tributaries—Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab.
World Bank President Ajay Banga recently clarified the organization’s limited role, stating, “We have no role to play beyond facilitation. Media claims about the World Bank resolving this issue are unfounded.”
