Reeling under a worsening water crisis, Pakistan has written four times to India, pleading for the revival of the Indus Waters Treaty, which New Delhi suspended following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people—mostly tourists—at the hands of Pakistan-backed terrorists.
Signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, the treaty allowed Pakistan exclusive rights over the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—while India retained control over the eastern ones—Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi. But after the attack, India paused the treaty, making it clear that “water and blood cannot flow together.”
Despite Islamabad’s repeated appeals—including three follow-up letters from its Water Resources Ministry and a request to the World Bank—India has stood its ground. The Jal Shakti Ministry has forwarded the correspondence to the Ministry of External Affairs, but no breakthrough is in sight.
Meanwhile, India is pushing forward with plans to divert Indus waters through new canal and tunnel projects that would benefit states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi.
With no treaty in place, Pakistan’s already critical water shortage has worsened. Experts warn that rabi crops could suffer significantly—while India recalibrates the flow of both diplomacy and rivers.
