Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Thursday that Pakistan would not receive water from rivers over which India holds rights. This declaration comes a month after a fatal assault in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) prompted New Delhi to suspend a crucial river water-sharing agreement between the neighboring nations.
The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which was brokered by the World Bank in 1960, was one of several actions India announced against Pakistan last month following the April 22 attack that resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals, predominantly Hindu tourists.
New Delhi accused Pakistan of the attack without providing evidence and initiated missile strikes on Pakistani cities, leading to the most severe military confrontations in nearly three decades before both parties consented to a ceasefire on May 10.
Speaking at a public gathering in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which shares a border with Pakistan, Modi asserted, “Pakistan will have to bear a significant cost for every act of terrorism… Pakistan’s military will bear it, Pakistan’s economy will bear it.”
The Indus treaty is vital for supplying water to 80% of Pakistan’s agricultural lands from three rivers that originate in India. However, Pakistan’s finance minister indicated this month that its suspension would not have “any immediate impact.”
The ceasefire between the two countries has largely been maintained, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar confirming that there is currently no exchange of fire and “there has been some repositioning of forces accordingly.”
“The (military) operation continues because there is a clear message… that if there are acts of the kind we witnessed on April 22, there will be a response, we will target the terrorists,” Jaishankar conveyed to the Dutch news outlet NOS.
He added, “If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will strike them where they are.” There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan to the remarks made by Modi and Jaishankar.
Since the April attack in Kashmir, the long-standing adversaries have implemented various measures against each other, including a halt in trade, closure of land borders, and the suspension of most visas.
