Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan will ‘never be restored’: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has firmly declared that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan "will never be restored".

In an interview with The Times of India, Shah said that while unilateral withdrawal is not allowed under international law, India had exercised its right to put the pact in abeyance.

Accusing Islamabad of breaching the very essence of the agreement, the Union Home Minister said, "the treaty preamble mentions that it was for peace and progress of the two countries but once that has been violated, there is nothing left to protect."

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Pahalgam terror attack

The decision to formally suspend the 1960 treaty came in the wake of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, carried out by Pakistan-based terror outfits, in which 26 civilians — mostly tourists — were killed.

The move was part of a broader diplomatic retaliation that included the expulsion of Pakistani nationals. The treaty had guaranteed water access for 80% of Pakistan's farms through three rivers originating in India.

The Indian government linked the suspension of the pact to Islamabad's continued support for cross-border terrorism.

‘Pakistan will be starved’

Shah announced that India would now utilise the water that was flowing into Pakistan by constructing a new canal and directing that water towards Rajasthan.

“We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably,” he said

The latest comments from Shah have dimmed Islamabad's hopes for negotiations on the treaty in the near term.

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Massive water diversion project

India has reportedly started working towards a larger inter-basin water transfer plan to fully utilise its share of Indus river waters.

According to the report by TOI, a feasibility study is underway for a 113-km canal that would divert surplus flows from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

This canal will link the Chenab with the Ravi-Beas-Sutlej system. The project aims to optimise India’s share under the Indus Waters Treaty by ensuring better use of both eastern (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) and western (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) rivers, curbing excess flows into Pakistan.

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Pakistan's sharp response

Despite a ceasefire agreement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following their worst border clashes in decades last month, the treaty remains suspended.

Earlier when India announced the suspension of IWT, Pakistan said that the treaty has no provision for one side to unilaterally pull back and that any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to the country will be considered "an act of war". Islamabad is also exploring a legal challenge to India's decision to hold the treaty in abeyance under international law.

Recently, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan's willingness to talk with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, the Indus Water Treaty, trade and counter-terrorism. However, India has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.