Islamabad/New Delhi– Facing mounting domestic anxiety over a looming water crisis, Pakistan has sent four formal appeals to India, requesting the reinstatement of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which New Delhi suspended in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
According to official sources, the letters were sent by Syed Ali Murtaza, Secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources, and addressed to India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti. The ministry subsequently referred them to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In the communications, Murtaza urged India to reconsider its decision and revive the decades-old water-sharing accord.
India invoked its national security concerns in suspending the World Bank-brokered treaty, declaring that it will remain on hold until Islamabad takes “credible and irreversible” steps to end its support for cross-border terrorism. The decision was endorsed by India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), marking the first time the treaty has been paused since its signing in 1960.
Following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, India launched Operation Sindoor, a counter-terror operation described as a strong signal of its zero-tolerance policy toward terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the government’s firm stance, declaring, “Water and blood cannot flow together” and “Terror and talks cannot happen at the same time.”
The suspension of the IWT has triggered alarm in Pakistan, where water from the Indus basin is vital to agriculture, energy, and the livelihoods of millions. In the Pakistani Senate, Senator Syed Ali Zafar warned of dire consequences if the water crisis remains unresolved.
“We would die of hunger if we don’t resolve the water crisis now. The Indus Basin is our lifeline. Three-fourths of our water comes from outside the country, nine out of ten people depend on the Indus Basin for survival, 90% of our crops rely on it, and all our power projects and dams are built on it,” Zafar said in a speech last month. “This is like a water bomb hanging over us, and we must defuse it.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has since expressed a renewed willingness to engage in dialogue with India, amid growing political pressure to avert a full-blown water emergency.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960, governs the sharing of six rivers—the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—between India and Pakistan. India has accused Pakistan of violating the treaty’s foundational spirit by obstructing infrastructure upgrades and supporting terrorism.
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, P. Harish, addressed the issue during an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on May 24. He cited Pakistan’s role in waging three wars and supporting thousands of terrorist attacks against India while resisting any meaningful treaty revisions.
“Despite all this, India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity,” Harish said, adding that the evolving landscape—escalating security threats, growing clean energy needs, climate change, and demographic shifts—necessitates an update to the treaty’s provisions.
India has formally proposed treaty modifications on several occasions over the past two years, but Islamabad has consistently blocked them. (Source: IANS)
