India has lambasted Pakistan for raising the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty at an international forum, calling the move an “unwarranted” and “misplaced” reference.
Responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement at the International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation held in Tajikistan, Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh on Saturday accused Islamabad of misusing the platform to make irrelevant allegations.
“We are appalled at the attempt by Pakistan to misuse the forum and to bring in unwarranted references to issues which do not fall within the purview of the forum. We strongly condemned such an attempt,” the Union Minister stated.
The sharp rebuttal came a day after the Pakistani Prime Minister termed India’s decision to suspend the 1960 treaty a “weaponisation of water” and “deeply regrettable.” Sharif had remarked: “Millions of lives must not be held hostage to narrow political gains, and Pakistan will not allow this. We will never allow the red line to be crossed.”
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Singh responded by stressing that Pakistan’s continued support for cross-border terrorism had undermined the spirit of the treaty. “Pakistan, which itself is in violation of the treaty, should desist from putting the blame for the breach of the treaty on India,” he said.
He also invoked the preamble of the treaty, signed in 1960, stating that it was concluded “in the spirit of goodwill and friendship,” and added that its implementation required honouring obligations in good faith — something that, according to him, Pakistan had failed to do.
Singh further noted that fundamental changes had occurred since the signing of the agreement, including climate change, population growth, technological advances, and the persistent threat of terrorism from across the border. “The unrelenting cross-border terrorism from Pakistan interferes with an ability to exploit the treaty as per its provisions,” he said.
The decision to suspend the treaty was among several punitive actions undertaken by New Delhi after 28 civilians were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on 22 April. The attack was blamed on Pakistan-based terrorists, a charge Islamabad has frequently denied despite mounting evidence.
India has long accused its western neighbour of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and has justified its diplomatic and water-related decisions as responses to continuing provocations.
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