India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, asserted that Pakistan has significantly undermined the foundation of the Indus Waters Treaty over the past 50 years. He emphasized that Islamabad has effectively “dismantled” the goodwill and camaraderie that formed the basis of the 1960 agreement. Kwatra stated that New Delhi’s decision to keep the treaty in abeyance is a clear acknowledgment of this ongoing deterioration.
According to a report by Newsweek, Kwatra pointed out that the preamble of the treaty embodies a commitment made “in a spirit of goodwill and friendship”, but Pakistan’s actions have weakened this foundation over the decades. He noted, “It is worth remembering that the treaty’s preamble declares it was concluded ‘in a spirit of goodwill and friendship’. Pakistan spent half a century dismantling that goodwill and friendship. The abeyance merely acknowledges what Pakistan’s conduct had already destroyed.”
Kwatra’s comments come in the wake of a conference organized by Pakistan that protested India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on April 23 of last year, a decision made shortly after a terrorist attack perpetrated by Pakistan-trained militants in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in 26 casualties.
The IWT, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, oversees the allocation of water from six rivers in the Indus basin. Under the treaty, India has control over the eastern rivers—Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—which account for approximately 20 percent of the basin’s water, whereas Pakistan is allocated rights over the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—collectively carrying around 80 percent.
Kwatra further highlighted that Pakistan has consistently obstructed India’s attempts to renegotiate the treaty in light of six decades of technological advancements. He suggested that such innovations could have enabled India to better harness its hydropower potential. “Bit by bit, Pakistan eroded India’s faith that it could exercise its rights under the treaty or hope for a better one suited to today’s realities,” he added.
When responding to suggestions for resuming talks between India and Pakistan, Kwatra remarked that previous initiatives had not addressed the core issues at stake. He reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s stance: “Terror and talks cannot go together… Terror and trade cannot go together… Water and blood cannot flow together.”
Kwatra also advised Pakistan to concentrate on enhancing its own water management practices rather than attributing its difficulties to India. He stated, “The Government of Pakistan would do better to fix its dismal water productivity than to stage conferences blaming India and issuing threats.”
