Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Jul 4: India on Friday reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India's position on the 1960 treaty remains unchanged.
"The Indus Waters Treaty stands in abeyance in response to Pakistan's continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably abjure support for cross-border terrorism," Jaiswal said.
India placed the World Bank-brokered treaty in abeyance following last year's Pahalgam terror attack, maintaining that "blood and water cannot flow together."
The MEA's remarks came in response to Pakistan's criticism of India's decision to suspend the treaty.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected what he described as India's attempt to use allegations of terrorism as a justification for putting the treaty on hold and obstructing the flow of Pakistan's share of river waters.
He alleged that the real issue was India's growing tendency to treat a shared international river system as a strategic asset that could be controlled, withheld or diverted.
The Indus Waters Treaty allocates the eastern rivers — Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — to India, while the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — are allocated to Pakistan, with India permitted limited use of the western rivers for irrigation and non-consumptive purposes such as hydroelectric power generation.
Speaking at an international seminar on the treaty earlier this week, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar accused India of "weaponising water" and warned that the move could have serious implications for regional peace and security.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who also addressed the seminar, compared India's suspension of the treaty to blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Jaiswal also reiterated that dialogue with Pakistan cannot resume unless it ends support for cross-border terrorism, effectively rejecting recent appeals by a group of prominent citizens from both countries seeking the resumption of bilateral talks.
The group reportedly included former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief A.S. Dulat and West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir.