ISLAMABAD — After milit clashes between India and Pakistan broke out earlier this month — at more than three days’ duration, making them the most inflamed between the two countries in decades — a ceasefire was agreed on May 10. But the bilateral water-sharing Indus Waters Treaty remains in abeyance, as India unilaterally suspended it on April 23, a day after a deadly attack killed 26 civilians in the India-administered part of Kashmir.
In response, the Pakistan government said, “Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War.” But the unilateral suspension of the treaty has not been rolled back by New Delhi, posing a significant economic threat to Pakistan’s economy, as about 80% of its irrigated agriculture and hydropower generation rely on the Indus water system.
