India launched a series of extraordinary punitive diplomatic and strategic actions against Pakistan after the April 22, 2025, fatal terror assault in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which took 26 lives, including civilians and one foreign individual.
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, a historic water-sharing arrangement mediated by the World Bank that has regulated the use of six rivers in the Indus basin between the two nations for 64 years, was suspended by the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
All treaty-related collaboration, including technical meetings, data exchange, and water flow alerts, is essentially suspended by this suspension. India announced that until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” stops supporting cross-border terrorism, the pact would stay suspended.
A significant change in India’s strategic stance toward Pakistan was also marked by the downgrading of diplomatic ties with Pakistan, the expulsion of three Pakistani military attachés, the reduction in the size of the Pakistani mission, and the closure of the integrated check station at the Attari border.
The eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) were given to India alone by the Indus Waters Treaty, while the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum
, and Chenab) were mainly given to Pakistan.
Nearly 90% of Pakistan’s agricultural output is dependent on the Indus basin for irrigation requirements. By possibly altering the water flows from these western rivers, the treaty’s suspension puts Pakistan’s food, energy, and water security at risk. This might worsen the country’s agricultural problems and water shortage in the Punjab and Sindh regions.
On April 24, 2025, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called a meeting of the National Security Committee in reaction to India’s suspension of the treaty and diplomatic downgrades. Pakistan’s senior military and civilian authorities, including service chiefs and important cabinet ministers, will convene this high-level meeting to devise a suitable reaction to India’s activities.
In addition, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is thinking of taking reciprocal diplomatic actions, like recalling Indian High Commission employees from Islamabad and removing Indian defense, aviation, and navy attachés. Pakistan’s intention to decisively respond to what it describes as India’s “diplomatic aggression” in the wake of the Pahalgam terror assault is reflected in these conversationsThe Indus Waters Treaty, a longstanding symbol of cooperation, is now being utilized as a strategic lever in the context of cross-border terrorism claims, marking a dramatic escalation in India-Pakistan relations.
The events highlight the delicate and erratic character of bilateral relationships as well as the possibility of more regional diplomatic and security conflicts.
.
