NEW DELHI: Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has firmly declared that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan will not be reinstated, asserting that water currently flowing into Pakistan will instead be diverted to Rajasthan via a new canal system.
In an interview with The Times of India on Saturday, Shah said, “No, it will never be restored,” referring to the landmark 1960 agreement that governed water sharing between the two neighbors. “We will take the water that was flowing to Pakistan and bring it to Rajasthan. Pakistan has been unjustly receiving it.”
India suspended its involvement in the treaty after a deadly attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) killed 26 civilians. New Delhi blamed the attack on cross-border terrorism, though Pakistan has denied any role in the incident. Despite a ceasefire agreed upon last month between the two nuclear-armed nations, the treaty remains inactive.
The original treaty, brokered by the World Bank, had ensured Pakistan access to three major rivers originating in India, covering nearly 80% of its agricultural needs.
Amit Shah’s remarks, as one of the most influential figures in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, have dashed any immediate hopes in Islamabad for diplomatic talks over the treaty’s future.
Reports from last month indicated India is planning to significantly boost its usage of river water from sources that flow into Pakistan as part of a broader retaliatory strategy.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has not yet responded to these latest statements but has previously warned that any attempt to block its water supply would be considered “an act of war.” Islamabad is also said to be weighing legal options under international law to challenge India’s suspension of the agreement.
