India Rules Out Return to Indus Waters Treaty, Plans Water Diversion from Pakistan
India will not reinstate the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and plans to divert river water for domestic use, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said in an interview with The Times of India on Saturday.
The 1960 treaty, which governs the use of the Indus river system, has been in abeyance since a deadly attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 civilians. India blamed the attack on cross-border terrorism and halted its participation in the agreement. Pakistan has denied any involvement.
The treaty, brokered with World Bank support, had guaranteed Pakistan access to three major rivers originating in India, supplying water to approximately 80% of its farmland.
“It will never be restored,” Shah stated. “We will divert water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be deprived of water it has been receiving unjustifiably.”
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors remain high, despite a recent ceasefire following their most intense military exchange in years.
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