India Suspends Indus Waters Treaty After Pahalgam Attack: Pakistan Warns of ‘Water Bomb’, Modi Says ‘No Water for Terror’
Islamabad/New Delhi | May 23, 2025: Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated sharply after India officially suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 Indian civilians. The move, hailed as a decisive national security measure by New Delhi, has triggered panic in Islamabad, with top Pakistani leaders warning of a looming “water bomb” threatening the country’s survival.
The suspension, which has effectively halted the 64-year-old World Bank-brokered agreement, was greenlit by India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in the immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam carnage. The Modi government linked the action directly to Pakistan’s continued patronage of cross-border terrorism.
Pakistan Senator: “Indus Basin is our lifeline, water bomb must be defused”
In a fiery speech in the Senate on Friday, Pakistani Senator Syed Ali Zafar admitted the country was on the brink of a full-scale water crisis and begged the Shehbaz Sharif government to act swiftly.
“We would die of hunger if we don't resolve the water crisis now,” Zafar warned.
“Three-fourths of our water comes from outside our borders, and 90% of our crops depend on it. This is like a water bomb hanging over us. We must defuse it before it’s too late.”
Pakistan receives the bulk of its freshwater supply through the Indus River system, which originates in India. The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty allocated the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — to India, and the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — to Pakistan, with India retaining limited rights for power generation and irrigation.
India’s stance: “Water and blood cannot flow together”
New Delhi has justified the suspension by invoking its national security doctrine. Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s uncompromising position:
“The Indus Waters Treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. As our Prime Minister has said, water and blood cannot flow together, and neither can trade and terror.”
The statement marks a significant shift in India’s diplomatic posture, with New Delhi openly leveraging water as a strategic tool — a message Prime Minister Narendra Modi further underscored during a rally in Rajasthan’s Bikaner.
Modi: “PoK must be vacated, or Pakistan will get not a drop of Indian water”
Addressing a massive crowd, PM Modi made it clear that India will not resume talks or trade with Pakistan unless it ends its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and stops sponsoring terrorism.
“If there is to be any talk, it will be on the vacation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” he said.
“If Pakistan continues to export terrorists, it will be left begging for every penny. It will not get a single drop of Indian water.”
The Prime Minister’s warning echoes India’s long-standing position that peace talks cannot proceed under the shadow of terror. The April 22 Pahalgam attack, which India blames on Pakistan-backed operatives, appears to have been the final straw.
Pakistan reacts with threats, desperation
In response to India's move, Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar have issued a series of warnings and inflammatory statements. However, these have largely been dismissed by Indian officials as “baseless and theatrical.”
Analysts say Pakistan’s diplomatic options are limited. The World Bank, which mediated the original treaty, has so far not intervened. Meanwhile, Pakistani farmers and energy planners are sounding the alarm over what they call a “doomsday scenario” if water inflows from India are cut off indefinitely.
Operation Sindoor and the new security doctrine
The suspension of the IWT is also being viewed in the context of India’s broader security response under Operation Sindoor, launched after the Pahalgam attack. The operation has seen heightened military action across Jammu and Kashmir, as well as an aggressive diplomatic and economic crackdown on Pakistan.
This is the first time since the treaty’s inception that India has paused its obligations under the pact, signaling a new phase in Indo-Pak relations — one where water, long a shared resource, is now a potential weapon of deterrence.
What next?
With no signs of Pakistan backing down from its terror strategy, and India hardening its stance under the Modi doctrine, a diplomatic thaw appears distant. For now, Islamabad faces the immediate challenge of managing a looming water shortage — a crisis that could ripple into agriculture, power generation, and mass livelihoods.
As PM Modi's government drives home the message that terror has costs, the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty may be just the beginning of a far-reaching realignment in India’s regional strategy.
