NEW DELHI (AFP) – India is working to ensure “not a single drop of water” will flow into neighbouring Pakistan, the water minister has said, after New Delhi suspended a major treaty last year._x000D_
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Pakistan has previously said it would consider any attempt to change the flow of cross-border waterways as an “act of war”, and says that the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT) remains in force as there is no mechanism to unilaterally withdraw from it._x000D_
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“It is certain, not a single drop of water will go [to Pakistan] in the coming years,” Minister of Water CR Patil told India’s ANI news agency late Tuesday._x000D_
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Patil, speaking in Hindi, said that India is “actively working on it” after “directives” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi._x000D_
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The treaty governs the use of water from six rivers, whose headwaters originate in India but flow into Pakistan as part of the Indus basin — a resource relied on by hundreds of millions._x000D_
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Last month, Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Malik said that India was attempting to politicise shared water resources in violation of long-standing international commitments, including the Indus Water Treaty._x000D_
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The minister warned that efforts to undermine international water-sharing agreements could jeopardise the rights of downstream nations._x000D_
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“Water aggression is unacceptable,” Malik said, stressing that no country should be allowed to use water as a weapon or suspend international agreements unilaterally while depriving other nations of their lawful water rights._x000D_
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The Indus cuts through demarcation lines between India and Pakistan in contested, Muslim-majority Kashmir._x000D_
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India said in May 2025 that it suspended its IWT membership, after accusing Islamabad of backing a deadly attack on tourists in India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) — charges Pakistan categorically denied._x000D_
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The issue of water has remained a bitter point of contention since._x000D_
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Earlier this month, Pakistan accused India of wanting to “weaponise” water, after two initiatives were announced by New Delhi on the section of the Chenab River it controls._x000D_
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In May, India’s government-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation issued a tender notice for a proposed tunnel project that would transfer water from the Chenab River to the Beas Basin._x000D_
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India’s power ministry said in January it was undertaking “sediment removal” at Salal Power Station on the Chenab River “following the termination of the Indus Waters Treaty”._x000D_
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Experts say that India’s existing dams do not have the capacity to block or divert water, and can only regulate timings of when it releases flows._x000D_
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Cutting flows would have serious implications for Pakistan’s agriculture and overall economy, but any project would take several years before they have an impact._x000D_
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An official in IIOJK said that any work would “not be possible to start before mid-2027”, and would take at least five years to complete.
