New Delhi: India on Friday formally informed Islamabad of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) suspension, with Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil declaring that “not a single drop of water” will be allowed to flow into Pakistan.
The statement followed a high-level strategy meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the Centre’s next steps after the April 22 Pahalgam carnage which left 26 people dead mostly tourists. The attack, which the government has linked to Pakistan-backed groups, has triggered one of the strongest Indian responses yet, targeting a key bilateral agreement that has endured through wars and decades of tension.
Paatil said the meeting was convened to implement directives issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the aftermath of the attack. “We will ensure that not a single drop of water flows into Pakistan from India,” he stated firmly after the meeting, which was attended by senior officials from multiple ministries.
Sources told PTI that a long-term strategy is being developed to effectively implement the suspension of the treaty, which governs the sharing of six rivers between the two countries.
The suspension of the treaty, signed under the World Bank’s auspices in 1960, marks a dramatic shift in India’s water diplomacy and is being interpreted as a direct message to Islamabad: India will no longer compartmentalize terrorism and cooperation.
