Washington, August 2: India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, stated that the Indus Water Treaty, established in 1960, was meant to foster goodwill and friendship. However, he claims that Pakistan has undermined this agreement over the past 50 years. He emphasized that revoking the treaty would merely formalize what Pakistan’s actions have already rendered ineffective.
The Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan to govern the use of water from the Indus River system. Under this treaty, India gained control over three eastern rivers, which account for approximately 20% of the basin’s total water. Conversely, Pakistan received water from three western rivers, which constitute about 80% of the total.
In an article for Newsweek, Kwatra noted, “This imbalance has hindered the development of regions in India that could benefit from better water rights. Nevertheless, India has adhered to the treaty in good faith.”
Following last year’s terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India exercised its rights as a sovereign nation under international law and suspended the Indus Water Treaty. This suspension will remain in effect until Pakistan renounces its support for cross-border terrorism in a credible and irreversible manner.
Kwatra pointed out that Pakistan’s approach has been characterized by wars, hostility, and cross-border terrorist attacks, including the attacks on the Indian Parliament, the Mumbai attacks, Uri, and Pathankot incidents, as well as the Pahalgam attack. According to him, over 40,000 lives in India have been lost due to Pakistan’s terrorist campaigns.
He further explained that Pakistan’s tactics have included obstructing Indian projects and causing bureaucratic delays. The repeated targeting of Indian project sites, including a terrorist attack on the Tulbul Navigation Project in 2012, has prevented India from exercising its rights under the treaty.
Kwatra mentioned that Pakistan has opposed India’s attempts to renegotiate the treaty in light of technological advancements, which would allow India to enhance its hydropower capabilities. He expressed that Pakistan has destroyed India’s confidence in its ability to exercise its rights under the treaty or to hope for a better agreement considering current global realities. He also highlighted that Pakistan is struggling with water shortages due to its government’s mismanagement.
In his article, he stressed, “It is essential to remember that the preamble of the treaty states it was made ‘in the spirit of goodwill and friendship.’ Pakistan has dismantled that goodwill and friendship over half a century. The suspension of the treaty merely acknowledges the reality that Pakistan’s conduct has already destroyed.”
Responding to calls for renewed dialogue between India and Pakistan, Ambassador Kwatra reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stance: “Terrorism and dialogue cannot coexist; terror and trade cannot coexist; water and blood cannot flow together.” He pointed out that Pakistan’s aggressive rhetoric, portraying India as a ‘water aggressor,’ reveals that the water scarcity faced by Pakistanis is a result of their own government’s mismanagement.
Kwatra urged the Pakistani government to address its poor water productivity instead of holding conferences to blame India. He stated, “It has become an old habit to pin every domestic failure on the neighbor. The world must clearly understand this, and if Pakistan genuinely seeks India’s cooperation on bilateral issues, it must first dismantle the terrorist infrastructure it has created.”
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