Pakistan has urged India to reconsider suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, citing a severe water crisis threatening its Kharif crop season.
Days after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, the government of Pakistan wrote a letter to the Ministry of Jal Shakti and urged it to reconsider the suspension. The letter, according to sources, sent by Pakistan’s Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza, highlights the severe water crisis the country is facing, particularly for its upcoming Kharif crop season.
The suspension of the treaty has led to a major shortage of irrigation water, posing a significant threat to agricultural productivity in Pakistan.
The treaty allocates the eastern rivers—Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi—to India and the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—to Pakistan.
Centre has announced plans on three fronts to prevent the water of the Indus River from reaching Pakistan.
India decided to put the treaty in abeyance after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) reviewed Islamabad’s continued support for terrorism.
“The Indus Waters Treaty was concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship as specified in the preamble of the treaty. However, Pakistan has held these principles in abeyance by its promotion of cross-border terrorism for decades,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
The decision by India to suspend the decades-old treaty followed the killing of 26 people, mostly tourists, in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
"The resulting security uncertainties have directly impeded India's full utilisation of its rights under the treaty," the letter read.
Earlier, Pakistan rejected the suspension of the treaty and said any measures to stop the flow of water "belonging to Pakistan" under the pact will be seen as an "act of war".
"Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an act of war," according to an official statement by Pakistan.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, has governed the distribution and use of the Indus river and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960.
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