Introduction
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has long been one of the few durable frameworks between India and Pakistan. Brokered by the World Bank in 1960, it allocated the eastern rivers to India and the western rivers to Pakistan and continued to function through wars, military crises and prolonged political hostility.[1] On 23 April 2025, India placed the treaty “in abeyance” after the Pahalgam incident, linking its restoration to allegations of cross-border terrorism that Pakistan rejects.[2]
The decision marks a departure from the established practice of keeping water cooperation separate from wider security disputes. It does not mean that India can immediately stop the western rivers. Its present leverage lies in suspending hydrological data sharing, weakening flood-warning and irrigation planning, making treaty cooperation conditional on political demands, and accelerating upstream infrastructure. Pakistan’s water crisis predates the current dispute, but the abeyance has added an external strategic risk to an already fragile system.
