Pakistan violated Indus Waters Treaty spirit with wars and terror attacks for decades: India at UN

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said this at the United Nations in the backdrop of New Delhi's diplomatic strike on Islamabad by suspending the treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Harish said, "India entered into the Indus Water Treaty 65 years ago in good faith. Pakistan has violated its spirit by inflicting three wars and thousands of terror attacks on India. More than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost, the most recent being the terror attack in Pahalgam. India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity throughout.

"Pakistan's state-sponsored cross-border terrorism seeks to hold hostage the lives of civilians and economic prosperity. In these 65 years...technology for dam infrastructure has transformed to ensure safety and efficiency of operations and water use. Some of the old dams are facing safety concerns."

"Pakistan has continued to block any changes to this infrastructure permissible under the Treaty. In 2012, terrorists attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in J&K, continuing to endanger the safety of our projects and civilian lives. India has asked Pakistan to discuss the modifications of the Treaty in the past 2 years.

"But Pakistan’s obstructionist approach continues to prevent the exercise... It is against this backdrop that India has announced that the Treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism. It is clear that it is Pakistan which remains in violation of the Indus Water Treaty..," he added.

After Islamabad's plea to the Jal Shakti Ministry asking India to reconsider the suspension decision of the Indus Waters Treaty, Jaishankar had earlier this month said the same "will continue to be kept in abeyance until cross-border terrorism by Pakistan is credibly and irrevocably stopped".

Pakistan, which depends heavily on the waters of the Indus both for agriculture and drinking, had written to the Jal Shakti ministry asking that India reconsider the matter.

Significance of the Indus Water Treaty

For over six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has been crucial in facilitating peaceful water sharing between India and Pakistan, even during times of heightened political and military tensions.

The treaty favours Pakistan, which is the downstream country, allowing it access to approximately 80% of the Indus River system's waters.

The Permanent Indus Commission, the body responsible for resolving disputes, continued its functions even during the wars of 1965 and 1971, demonstrating the resilience of the treaty framework. 

Despite facing multiple terror attacks, including the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack, India had not withdrawn from the treaty until the Pahalgam attack.

Pahalgam attack

Twenty-six tourists, mostly Hindus, 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. Two among the dead were non-Muslim foreigners.