NEW DELHI, May 7 (Alliance News): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday declared that water from rivers flowing into Pakistan will be redirected for India’s use, just days after suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) — a cornerstone of water-sharing between the two rival nations.
“India’s water used to go outside, now it will flow for India,” Modi said during a speech in New Delhi. “India’s water will be stopped for India’s interests, and it will be utilised for India.”
Though Modi did not name Pakistan directly, the timing of his remarks coincides with escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalaga, a mountain resort in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for the attack — a charge Pakistan denies.
Pakistan responded strongly to the announcement, warning that any disruption to the flow of its rivers would be considered “an act of war.” The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, had allocated the use of six rivers between the two countries, with three major rivers — the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — granted to Pakistan.
India reportedly altered the flow of the Chenab River on Tuesday, raising alarms in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
“We have witnessed changes in the river (Chenab) which are not natural at all,” said Punjab Irrigation Minister Kazim Pirzada, adding that the sudden drop in river inflow could severely affect Pakistan’s agricultural heartland.
Pirzada also alleged that on April 26, large volumes of water were released downstream by India, depriving Pakistani farmers of its usage. “This is being done so that we don’t get to utilise the water,” he said.
The suspension of the treaty marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. Modi had previously threatened to weaponize water in 2016 following another attack in Kashmir, famously stating: “Blood and water cannot flow together.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that India-Pakistan relations had reached a “boiling point,” calling for “maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink” to avoid a full-scale conflict.
India’s aggressive posture on water may also have regional consequences, as it is a downstream country of China, which controls the Tibetan headwaters of the Brahmaputra River — vital for India’s northeast and for Bangladesh further downstream.
