India Halts Indus Waters Treaty, Closes Attari Border Amid Heightened Tensions with Pakistan
India Halts Indus Waters Treaty, Closes Attari Border Amid Heightened Tensions with Pakistan
In light of a tragic terror attack in Pahalgam, India is taking strong action against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty. Learn more about the implications.
The Cabinet Committee on Security, or CCS highest national-level decision-making body on security-must take strict and punishing measures against Pakistan due to the "cross-border linkages" which have emerged during the investigation of the dastardly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, in which 26 people, including one foreign national, lost their lives.
India's decision to indefinitely suspend the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, which dates back several decades, has the potential to determine whether or not water supplies from the Indus River and its distributaries, Jhelum and Chenab, will now get diverted or stopped. These rivers are Pakistan's main water supply sources and are crucial to the livelihood of tens of millions of people in that country.
The Indus Waters Treaty 1960, which was signed on September 19, was an agreement between India and Pakistan brokered by the World Bank. That treaty survived three wars between India and Pakistan in 1965, 1971, and 1999, but is currently suspended indefinitely.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced, "In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out. It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development."
He went on to say that "Recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, the CCS decided upon the following measures:"
- The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
- The Integrated Check Post Attari-Wagah border will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025.
- Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled. Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.
- The defence or military officials - Naval and air advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own defence - navy, air advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled with immediate effect. Five support staff of the service advisers will also be withdrawn from both High Commissions immediately.
- The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by 01 May 2025.
The Indus Waters Treaty: What Suspension Could Mean
The Indus Waters Treaty has been one of the few long-standing treaties between India and Pakistan, remaining the sole successful example of cooperation between the nuclear neighbors. In 2019, after the Pulwama terror attack on paramilitary personnel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly stated before the cabinet committee on security that "blood and water cannot flow together." But in 2019, he opted against it.
After this cowardly attack led by the Pakistan-based terrorist organization The Resistance Front, which has claimed to have killed 26 tourists in Kashmir, the government has decided to suspend the water-sharing treaty.
This is the first time India has officially moved to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. While past Indian governments have considered "reviewing" the agreement after terrorist attacks, such as the Uri and Pulwama attacks, no government has formally acted.
This shift signals that New Delhi is willing to use all diplomatic, economic, and strategic tools at its disposal. At the same time, the international community, including the United States, China, and the UN, may urge restraint.
