Union Home Minister Amit Shah has delivered a stark warning regarding Pakistan's future water security, asserting that the nation will be starved of water and that India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty to its previous operational state.
Shah’s forceful remarks underscore a significant hardening of India’s stance on shared water resources with its western neighbour, signalling a potentially new era in their contentious bilateral relations.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, has long been hailed as one of the most successful water-sharing agreements globally, surviving multiple wars and periods of extreme tension between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Under the treaty, India controls the waters of the Eastern Rivers while Pakistan has access to the Western Rivers. However, recent years have seen increasing calls within India to reconsider aspects of the treaty, particularly in response to cross-border terrorism and strained diplomatic ties.
Shah’s declaration that the treaty will never be restored to its original form suggests that India intends to fully utilise its share of waters from the Eastern Rivers and potentially review its obligations regarding the Western Rivers as well. This could involve accelerating the construction of various hydro-power and irrigation projects on Indian tributaries, which have historically been delayed or faced objections from Pakistan. Such actions would significantly impact Pakistan's water supply, which is heavily reliant on the Indus River system for its agriculture and burgeoning population.
Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks are expected to draw strong condemnation from Islamabad, which views the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) as vital and any unilateral move by India as hostile. Shah’s firm stance reflects India’s broader strategy of asserting national security and sovereignty. It also signals that India is willing to leverage water resources to pressure Pakistan, especially over its alleged support for terrorism.
