Indus Water Treaty: Trust was still there even after three wars, the Pahalgam attack broke that too!

The Indus Water Treaty has been cancelled by the Indian government (Photo: Credit ANI )

India has taken a big action after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. The Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan has been suspended. However, three wars were fought between India and Pakistan after the treaty. Then this treaty was saved from a series of strict actions by India.

New Delhi : After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Pakistan has been in trouble. India has taken a tough step and put the Indus Water Treaty on hold. This is being described as India’s biggest action against Pakistan so far. According to a TOI report, this treaty had survived three wars between India and Pakistan. Earlier also, there was talk of cancelling this treaty in the action against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. But action has been taken on it for the first time.

After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Pakistan has been in trouble. India has taken a tough step and put the Indus Water Treaty on hold. This is being described as India’s biggest action against Pakistan so far. According to a media report, this treaty survived three wars between India and Pakistan. Earlier also, there was talk of cancelling this treaty in the action against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. But action has been taken on it for the first time.

This decision of the Indian government means that the flow of water from the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab and their tributaries will be stopped immediately. The flow of water will be controlled with the help of dams or small and big structures built on these rivers. However, the flow of rivers will continue through natural channels. This step of India will affect the supply of irrigation and drinking water in 2 out of 4 states of Pakistan in the scorching summer.

The agreement was signed in 1960
The Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on 19 September 1960 under the mediation of the World Bank. The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru from India and the then President Ayub Khan from Pakistan signed this agreement. Under this, 6 rivers flowing from India to Pakistan – Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej were divided into 2 parts. India was given rights over Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. At the same time, Pakistan gets most of the water of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

The Indus Water Treaty will have a major impact on two states of Pakistan (Photo: Credit PTI)

The agreement withstood three wars

After this agreement, three wars were fought between India and Pakistan in 1965, 1971 and 1999. Apart from this, terrorist attacks on Pulwama, Pathankot and Mumbai also took place. Every time the demand was raised that the Indus Water Treaty should be cancelled and water supply to Pakistan should be stopped. But no government took action on this keeping in mind the humanitarian aspect. Now the killing of 28 tourists by terrorists in Pahalgam has shaken the whole country. All the big leaders of the country and the world have condemned it. Ever since Pakistan’s hand came to light in the attack, there was pressure on the Indian government to take strict action against the neighboring country.

On Wednesday April 23, 2025, a meeting of the Cabinet’s Security Committee was held under the chairmanship of PM Modi. In this, 5 major actions were announced against Pakistan. This includes cancelling the Indus Water Treaty, cancelling the SAARC visa of Pakistanis, closing the Attari border, asking Pakistani military advisors to leave India and reducing the number of employees in the Pakistan High Commission.