India writes to Pakistan on suspending Indus Waters Treaty, cites 'sustained cross-border terrorism'

The letter came shortly after Islamabad's tit-for-tat move against New Delhi's diplomatic actions following the Pahalgam massacre.

Islamabad has threatened to suspend all agreements between the two countries, including the Simla Pact of 1972, which validates the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, media reports said.

The Indian Government on Wednesday evening suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan indefinitely as a part of some strict measures taken against Islamabad over the "cross-border linkages" that emerged during the investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack.

A view of the Indus River near Leh. Photo courtesy: Avani Tanya/Wikipedia

Pakistan also announced that it will reduce Indian diplomatic staff at the High Commission.

In a letter sent this evening to the Union Ministry of Water Resources to Syed Ali Murtuza, Secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources of Pakistan, India said, "The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental to a treaty. However, what we have seen instead is sustained cross border terrorism by Pakistan targeting the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir".

The letter also mentioned that Pakistan has consistently ignored India's efforts to work out certain issues that have cropped up with "fundamental changes in the circumstances that have taken place since the Treaty was executed".

"These changes include significantly altered population demographics, the need to accelerate the development of clean energy and other changes in the assumptions underlying the sharing of waters under the Treaty," the letter read.

India said in addition, consistent cross-border terrorism has given rise to "uncertainties' that have "directly impeded India's full utilization of its rights under the Treaty".

"Furthermore, apart from other breaches committed by it, Pakistan has refused to respond to India's request to enter into negotiations as envisaged under the Treaty and is thus in breach of the Treaty," the letter read.

India has also asked all Pakistani nationals to leave the country by April 29 and suspended all visas, including medical ones and permits given to diplomats under the SAARC scheme.

In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan also announced that it will reduce the Indian diplomatic staff at the High Commission to 30 persons.

India had announced the same on Wednesday. Both countries have now declared that their air force, naval diplomats, and support staff at the respective High Commissions are Persona Non Grata.

Following India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan said, "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 and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power."

Pakistan now faces a grave situation after the water supply from the Indus River and its distributaries, including the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Satluj, has been stopped.

These rivers supply the water requirements for Pakistan and impact tens of millions of people in the neighbouring country.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960, with the World Bank brokering the agreement. That treaty remained steady despite the three wars between India and Pakistan - in 1965, 1971, and 1999, but is now suspended indefinitely.

"Pakistan shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to Simla Agreement in abeyance, till India desists from its manifested behaviour of fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan," Islamabad said.

This announcement is significant as the Simla Agreement, signed after the 1971 war, makes provision for the ceasefire line to be known as the Line of Control (LoC), which is where the armies of the two nations are stationed. Should Pakistan suspend the Simla Agreement, it will raise a question on the validity of the Line of Control.

PM Modi's message against terrorism

Earlier in the day, PM Modi sent a strong message against terrorism to the world and said the terrorists and their backers will pay unimaginable costs for the attack on innocent tourists in Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Addressing a rally in Bihar's Madhubani, Modi said: "From the soil of Bihar I tell the whole world that India will identify them and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the end of the earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished."

"Every effort will be made to ensure justice is done," he said, adding that the entire country is grieving the merciless killings.

"Some of the victims speak Bengali, some Kannada, some Marathi, some Gujarati, some  Oriya or some from the land of Bihar. Some lost their brother, some son, some life partner. But the attack is not just on the innocent tourists, but on the soul of India," he said, adding that India stands together in the face of terrorism.

Pahalgam Massacre

Twenty-six tourists died after terrorists identified them as non-Muslims and gunned them down in Baisaran meadows, a popular destination in Pahalgam.

World leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, condemned the attack.

The terrorists, who were apparently in camouflage, reportedly asked the victims to chant Islamic verse, pull down their pants to check circumcision in a bid to confirm their Hindu identities before gunning them down. One Nepali national was among those killed.