How India Putting Indus Waters Treaty In Abeyance To Punish Pakistan Is A Well-Calibrated Step

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Last Updated:May 28, 2025, 01:03 IST

The government has drawn up short-term, mid-term, and long-term plans to ensure that putting this treaty into abeyance will work for the welfare of India’s population

A day after the attack on innocent civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on April 22, a series of decisions were made by the cabinet committee on security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to teach Pakistan a lesson. One of the more keenly watched ones among them is how the Indus Waters Treaty will be put into abeyance.

Even in his rallies across multiple states after India’s precise strikes on Pakistani terror bases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken elaborately that India will not back down. This move by India is certainly making the neighbouring nation sweat, he said in a public address on Tuesday.

But the question remains, has India been able to achieve it overnight? The answer certainly is “no". Even in a recent standing committee meeting for external affairs, India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, told MPs that this is a plan that has been in the works.

Multiple departments, including the Jal Shakti Ministry and external affairs, have been working on a calibrated effort on this.

“Putting IWT in abeyance is a surgical strike in perpetuity, because it hits Pakistan where it hurts the most. The conversation around suspending the treaty has been ongoing in the government for the last three years," a top source in the government told CNN-News18.

This was in the works because Pakistan never followed the norms of the treaty and always displayed an obstructionist approach. “Pakistan has always obstructed India’s attempts to work within the framework of the treaty for the benefit of its people," the source added.

The treaty posed many limitations on India, as there was no provision for abrogation. But India’s position is also strengthened by the prevalence of a provision that allows changes and reviews to the treaty when both sides agree.

Over the last couple of years, a lot of thought has gone into improvisation on the terms of the treaty on multiple grounds by India. The treaty of 1960 certainly does not meet the requirements of the 21st century. It was based on the engineering standards of the 1950s and 1960s, which also needed a lot of upgrades.

Due to current climate change, melting glaciers, the quantity of water in rivers, the growing population, and the need for clean energy, renegotiation was considered essential.

Pakistan, being a lower riparian nation, depends heavily on the Indus waters. The treaty on hold gives India control over the waters of six rivers. It’s psychological warfare on Pakistan, as India now holds the key to the release and holding of water.

Further, the suspension of water commissioners on both sides and “no sharing of data" also amplify the problem for Pakistan. “Even for some basic construction work, we had to approach the commission, and we had to inform Pakistan six months in advance, but it was more than certain that the response would never be positive and would keep things in a permanent suspension mode. At least that will not matter anymore, because the commission will not be functional as the treaty is not functional right now," a government source told CNN-News18.

This treaty, first implemented in 1960, was based on goodwill and friendship. However, by promoting terrorism, Pakistan has broken that goodwill and friendship, said officials. Over the years, Pakistan has misused India’s generosity as its weakness. It is also clear that the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between the two countries in September 1960, was tilted in Pakistan’s favour. It was based on the premise that Pakistan would not engage in hostile activities. But this time, when Pakistan crossed every line of India’s patience, India finally decided that Pakistan must be made to pay for its sins.

Well aware of Pakistan’s dirty tricks department, the Indian establishment has covered its ground on both political and legal fronts. While informing Pakistan of the treaty being put into abeyance, officials of the Ministry of Jal Shakti listed very clearly why this decision has been announced, stating that Pakistan’s terror policies do not go with India’s neighbourhood policies. Apart from this, before Pakistan could even blink, India had taken the World Bank into confidence. The Indian establishment is in possession of communication from the World Bank that they are mere facilitators and have nothing to do with solving the matter between these two nations.

Also, while Pakistan wants to make this a global matter and, perhaps, go to the International Court of Justice, India has well prepared itself to take the legal route.

Several rounds of meetings have been happening in the government ever since the announcement by the ministry of external affairs. Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil at the very beginning made it very clear that not a single drop of water will go to Pakistan. Over a few meetings with union home minister Amit Shah, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and other experts in water resources, the government of India has drawn up a list of short-term, mid-term, and long-term plans to ensure that putting this treaty into abeyance will work for the welfare of India’s population.

Pakistan has gone out with a “begging bowl", saying that it would not be right for India to wage a water war with its public. The Pakistani army has threatened India that if it stops the water, Pakistan will choke the people of India. At this moment, India is not in any mood to listen to any empty threats or even allow the interference of any other country on matters concerning Pakistan. The Indian establishment has made it very clear that Pakistan has to come clean on terror and on ceding PoK to have any bilateral conversation.

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