India Suspends Indus Waters Treaty

India has officially suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, effective immediately, citing Pakistan's sustained cross-border terrorism targeting India — Jammu and Kashmir. This decision follows the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. India's Secretary of Water Resources, Debashree Mukherjee, sent a formal letter to her Pakistani counterpart, Syed Ali Murtaza, detailing the abeyance of the 1960 treaty. India stated that Pakistan's refusal to negotiate and its breaches of the treaty, coupled with security uncertainties, have impeded India's rights. Pakistan's National Security Committee has warned that any attempt to block or divert water would be considered an 'Act of War,' raising concerns about potential military escalation. The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank Group, allocated eastern rivers to India and western rivers to Pakistan, and its suspension marks a major escalation in regional water diplomacy and bilateral relations.