"Stand Unchanged": India Stays Firm On Indus Waters Amid Pak Threats

Pakistan's aggressive posturing on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has no effect on India's decision to keep the treaty in abeyance until the neighbouring country stops supporting cross-border terrorism, India said today, responding to threats by Pakistan.

Ever since India decided to keep the IWT in abeyance following the April 2025 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists, Pakistan has been lying to the international community that India's decision sets a dangerous precedent for nations that share transboundary rivers.

In response, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today reminded Pakistan that nothing would change until it stops backing cross-border terrorism.

"India's position on the Indus Waters Treaty is consistent. IWT stands in abeyance in response to Pakistan's continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably abjure its support for cross-border terrorism," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.

Strategic experts say Pakistan - long known as a safe haven for terror - has been inching towards a desperate situation of its own making in the IWT matter, but does not want to acknowledge it. The country where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was found hiding continues to allow terrorists to use its territory for attacks in India, especially Jammu and Kashmir.

In Pakistan's latest move at trying to gain international support over the IWT matter, its Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had earlier this week at a low-attendance event said his country rejected India's decision to keep the IWT in abeyance, adding the treaty "remains valid, binding and operative."

At the same event, former Pakistani minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari mentioned the words "nuclear option" while talking about the IWT treaty, a comment that strategic experts have termed irresponsible. "Pakistan's nuclear bombs are not for ceremonial purposes. If all efforts fail to restore the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan must explore the nuclear option."

Last year too, India had said that until such time that the treaty is in abeyance, India is no longer bound to perform any of its obligations under the IWT. "No court of arbitration, much less this illegally constituted arbitral body which has no existence in the eye of law, has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of India's actions in exercise of its rights as a sovereign," the MEA said in June 2025.

The IWT, brokered by the World Bank, has governed the distribution and use of the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960. The two neighbours signed the treaty after nine years of negotiations.

The international community can clearly see Pakistan's attempt to mislead them on the issue. Japan, along with India, yesterday issued a sharp, unequivocal condemnation of cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan, demanding immediate global action to dismantle state-supported safe havens and financing channels.

The joint statement came after bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi.

At today's briefing, the MEA spokesperson said India has strongly condemned Pakistani military strikes in Afghanistan, a country where India has an ongoing humanitarian assistance cooperation. The strikes had led to significant civilian casualties.

"We had strongly condemned the airstrikes that happened from Pakistan into Afghanistan, in which several civilian lives, including women and children, were lost. We had offered our condolences on the passing away of precious lives, and we had also, at the same time, reiterated our strong support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Afghanistan," Jaiswal said.