How India’s withdrawal from Indus Water Treaty can hurt Pakistan

India has decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 “in abeyance” as one of several steps taken in response to the brutal massacre of 26 tourists in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

A group of Pakistani and local militants are suspected to have carried out the terror strike – one of the deadliest since the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008.

The Indus river system is central to Pakistan’s water needs. Not surprisingly, the Pakistani government reacted strongly to India’s decision to walk away from the over six-decade-long water sharing agreement between the two countries. Pakistan warned India that any disruption to its water supply would be considered “an act of war”, which the country was prepared to respond, “with full force across the complete spectrum of national power.”

Jal Shakti minister CR Patil has claimed that the Indian government will make sure that “not a drop of water” goes to Pakistan.

But rhetoric aside, what implications does India’s withdrawal from the treaty have for Pakistan?

Experts told Scroll that the suspension of the treaty implies that India is no longer accountable to Pakistan for using, regulating or stopping the flow of the water of three western rivers – the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum – allotted...

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