Indus treaty will never be restored, says Shah

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Home Minister Amit Shah has said India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and divert to parched Rajasthan the excess water that had been flowing from Jammu and Kashmir to the neighbouring nation.

The comment triggered a sharp reaction from Islamabad as it called such conduct “reckless and dangerous precedent that undermined the credibility of international agreements”.

Shah, in an interview with an English daily, said India would altogether scrap the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and divert the water flowing to Pakistan for internal use. “The treaty will never be restored. We will take the water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably," Shah said.

After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 in which 25 tourists and a local pony operator were killed, India had put in abeyance the 1960 treaty, which governs the usage of the Indus river system. There was no breakthrough on the matter despite a ceasefire being agreed upon by the two nuclear-armed neighbours last month after four days of their worst fighting in decades.

The IWT had guaranteed water access for 80 per cent of Pakistan's farmland through three rivers originating in India.

A spokesperson of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said the statement (by Shah) reflected a “brazen disregard for the sanctity of international agreements”. “The Indus Waters Treaty is not a political arrangement, but an international treaty with no provision for unilateral action. India’s illegal announcement to keep the treaty in abeyance constitutes a clear violation of international laws, the provisions of the treaty itself and the fundamental principles governing inter-state relations," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson alleged that such conduct would set a “reckless and dangerous precedent, one that undermined the credibility of international agreements and raised serious questions about the reliability and trustworthiness of a state that openly refused to fulfil its legal obligations”.

"Weaponising water for political ends is irresponsible and contrary to established norms of responsible state behaviour. India must immediately rescind its unilateral and unlawful stance, and restore full and unhindered implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty. For its part, Pakistan remains firmly committed to the treaty and will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and entitlements under it," the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said.