Pakistan again appeals for talks on Indus Water Treaty; Why is India not ready?
#News Bureau June 7,2025
Pakistan has once again requested India for talks on the Indus Water Treaty, but India has not given any positive signals. Know the reasons behind India’s refusal and the current situation.
Pakistan has once again requested to hold talks on the Indus Water Treaty. For this, it has written a letter to India, but India has taken a tough stand and rejected this proposal. The message is clear that ‘blood and water cannot flow together.’ So the question is whether Pakistan will take action against terrorism or will it lose the treaty and continue to suffer economic losses?
Pak has taken this step of writing a letter when India suspended this treaty in April last year after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, citing national security concerns and allegations of cross-border terrorism. However, India has refused to accept this offer right now and has said that it will take steps towards amending the treaty according to its own needs.
The Indus Water Treaty is a historic water sharing agreement between India and Pakistan. It was signed between the two countries in 1960 under the mediation of the World Bank. Under this, the water of the six rivers of the Indus river system is divided between Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. According to the treaty, India has control over the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers, while the water of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers is mainly allocated to Pakistan. This treaty has been a strong basis for cooperation between the two countries for decades, but in recent years tensions and terrorism-related issues have affected it.
Now, Syed Ali Murtaza, Secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources, has written a letter to India’s Jal Shakti Ministry appealing to restore the treaty and start talks on it. NDTV has reported quoting sources that Pakistan has written to India four times appealing for talks, but it has been disappointed every time.
Pakistan says it is ready to discuss India’s objections and resolve the issues. Pakistan also said it considers the suspension of the treaty a violation of international law and wants transparent and credible negotiations to restore it.
Pakistan has made this offer at a time when it is fearing a water crisis. The Indus river system is considered the lifeline for Pakistan’s agriculture and economy and the suspension of the treaty can have a serious impact on its water resources.
India has rejected Pakistan’s offer and made it clear that it is not ready for talks right now. India says that the suspension of the treaty will continue until Pakistan takes ‘concrete and visible’ steps against cross-border terrorism. India saw the treaty as a gesture of generosity towards Pakistan in 1960, but this trust has been broken due to repeated terrorist activities.
India has also expressed its intention to revise the treaty. The government believes that the existing treaty is unfavorable to India and needs to be revised in line with national interests. Apart from this, India has started the work of removing sediments at Salal and Baglihar hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, about which Pakistan was not informed. This move has become a matter of concern for Pakistan, as it believes that this may affect the water flow.
Let us tell you that the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on 23 April 2025 further hardened India’s stand. After this attack, India decided to suspend the treaty citing national security.
India says that ‘blood and water cannot flow together’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already made this clear. This statement has been repeated several times recently.
Pakistan has tried to raise the issue at international forums including the United Nations, but India has made it clear that it considers the suspension of the treaty to be correct and will not reinstate it until its concerns over terrorism are addressed. The World Bank, the mediator of the treaty, has not yet made any active intervention in the matter.
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Experts believe that this dispute can further increase tensions between the two countries. Some experts say that this is a serious crisis for Pakistan due to its dependence on water resources, while India is trying to build pressure using its strategic position.
The latest dispute between India and Pakistan over the Indus Water Treaty is deepening the already existing tension between the two countries. Pakistan’s repeated offer of talks and India’s tough stance shows the complexity of the issue. What will happen to this treaty in the future will largely depend on the trust and diplomatic relations between the two countries. At present, India’s stand is clear – terrorism and water cannot go together.
