Centre issues notification on holding Indus Water Treaty in abeyance: Sources

The government has issued an official notification on holding the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, sources said on Friday.

Yesterday, Jal Shakti Ministry Secretary Debashree Mukherjee wrote to her Pakistan counterpart Syed Ali Murtaza, conveying that the Indian government has decided that “the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect”.

“These communications cited fundamental changes in the circumstances that have taken place since the Treaty was executed that require a re-assessment of obligations under the various Articles of the Treaty read with its Annexures,” the letter said.

On Thursday, a high-level meeting was conducted at the Ministry of Home Affairs amid ongoing developments concerning the terror attack near Pahalgam town in Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the terror attack, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, giving them 40 hours to return to their country, and reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides.

India also halted the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.

Terrorists attacked tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on April 22, killing 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen while leaving several others injured.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960, following nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan, with the assistance of the World Bank, which is also a signatory. The negotiations were initiated by former World Bank President Eugene Black. Recognised as one of the most successful international treaties, it has endured frequent tensions, including conflict, and has provided a framework for irrigation and hydropower development for over half a century.

The Treaty allocates the Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan and the Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India. At the same time, the Treaty allows each country certain uses of the rivers allocated to the other. The treaty gives India 20 per cent of the water from the Indus River System and the rest 80 per cent to Pakistan.