After having weathered wars and decades of hostility, the Indus Waters Treaty has finally been suspended by India. Triggered by Pahalgam terror attack, the move marks a significant escalation with wide-reaching diplomatic and economic consequences. A report by Aayush Goel
Having survived four wars, decades of tension between the two nations, and undeterred cross-border terrorism, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has been suspended for the first time by India. The decision, first mulled over after the Pulwama attack, has been implemented after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which claimed 26 lives, the majority being tourists. With Pakistan-based terror outfit claiming responsibility, India has finally taken its stand on ‘blood and water don’t flow together’. “The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced while sharing other diplomatic actions against Pakistan.
In its letter to Pakistan on Thursday, India invoked the provision for modification under Article XII (3). “These communications cited fundamental changes in the circumstances that have taken place since the Treaty was executed that require a reassessment of obligations under the various Articles of the Treaty read with its Annexures,” the letter by the Jal Shakti Ministry stated. According to the letter, the “changes” include “significantly altered population demographics”, “the need to accelerate the development of clean energy”, and Pakistan not acting in “good faith”. “The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental to a treaty. However, what we have seen instead is sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan,” the letter said. Taking a strong stance, India has, in addition to the suspension of the treaty, announced closure of the Attari border post, cancellation of visas, and the expulsion of several Pakistani personnel from India. It is, however, the suspension of the water treaty that has rattled not just Pakistan but the entire world, is expected to have the most far-reaching ramifications.
What is the Indus Water Treaty?
The origins of the IWT are traced to the Partition of India in August 1947, which marked the end of British colonial rule and the emergence of India and Pakistan as two sovereign nations. At that time, the combined population of both nations stood at over 1.6 billion. A large part of Northern India and almost the entire Pakistan are critically dependent on the waters of the rivers flowing from the Himalayas. Given their shared reliance on these Indus River systems for agriculture and irrigation, the treaty became a necessity. It took decades of negotiations for both nations simmering in cross-border tensions to arrive at an agreement mediated by the World Bank. Finally, in September 1960, former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Pakistani President Ayub Khan signed the treaty. The pact rules the division of the water of the Indus River and its tributaries equitably between the two countries. According to the treaty, India gets about 30% of the total water carried by the Indus River System located in India, while Pakistan gets the remaining 70%. The treaty gives India control over the waters of the three “Eastern Rivers” the Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej with a mean annual flow of 41 billion m3 while control over the waters of the three “Western Rivers” Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum located in India with a mean annual flow of 99 billion m³ to Pakistan. The treaty also permits both countries to use the other’s rivers for certain purposes, such as small hydroelectric projects that require little or no water storage. Other than the obvious reasons, a key impact of the suspension is that India will not have to intimate Pakistan while carrying out any work on the three rivers, leaving no scope for objection, feedback, or inclusion.
