Indus Waters Treaty should remain suspended, our lifeblood has drained: Omar Abdullah
The Jammu and Kashmir government reiterated its call for the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) to remain suspended, citing long-standing restrictions on the region's use of its own river waters under the treaty.
It was stated that the Union Territory has been unable to draw adequate drinking water from the Chenab, build certain navigation and storage projects, or construct large dams on rivers allotted to Pakistan under the treaty.
India placed the IWT "in abeyance" in April 2025 following a terror attack in Pahalgam, linking the move to Pakistan's continued alleged support for cross-border terrorism.
Pakistan's government has warned of a response over the water dispute, as the country faces significant domestic reliance on the Indus river system for agriculture and its economy.
Indus Waters Treaty, 1960 — Framework and River Allocation
The IWT was signed on 19 September 1960 between India and Pakistan, brokered and guaranteed by the World Bank, to permanently divide the six rivers of the Indus basin. It remains one of the world's most durable water-sharing treaties, having survived three wars between the two countries before its 2025 abeyance.
Key Details
- Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) allocated for India's unrestricted use; Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) allocated primarily to Pakistan.
- India retains limited rights on the Western Rivers — non-consumptive uses such as run-of-the-river hydropower, restricted irrigation, and navigation.
- The Indus Basin Development Fund, financed by the World Bank, US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, funded replacement canal and storage infrastructure for Pakistan.
- Pakistan depends on the Indus system for roughly 80% of its ~16 million hectares of irrigated agriculture and about 93% of its total water use, supporting an estimated 237 million people.
J&K's grievance — that it cannot fully exploit even its permitted non-consumptive uses on the Western Rivers — stems directly from these treaty-based allocation limits, which the abeyance temporarily lifts.
Treaty "Held in Abeyance" — Legal Status under International Law
The IWT's Article XII stipulates that the treaty can only be modified or terminated by mutual consent of both governments — it contains no clause permitting unilateral suspension or withdrawal. India's April 2025 "abeyance" is therefore a novel legal posture rather than a treaty-recognised mechanism, generally understood as a de facto pause in performance rather than a formal termination.
Key Details
- India's stated justification draws on the customary international law doctrine of rebus sic stantibus (fundamental change of circumstances), codified in Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), 1969 — though India is not a signatory to the VCLT and the doctrine has rarely succeeded in international practice.
- The abeyance was announced by India's Ministry of External Affairs on 23 April 2025, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack, and remains in effect as of mid-2026.
- Under the abeyance, India has halted data-sharing and Permanent Indus Commission meetings with Pakistan and undertaken reservoir-flushing and desilting operations on western-river projects without prior notice to Pakistan.
The call for the abeyance to "remain" reflects that India has kept the treaty non-operational for over a year without formally terminating it, leaving its precise legal status contested under international law.
Dispute Resolution Mechanism and Precedents (Baglihar, Kishenganga)
The Treaty created a three-tier dispute resolution structure: "questions" go to the Permanent Indus Commission (one Commissioner from each country, meeting at least annually); "differences" go to a World Bank-appointed Neutral Expert; and "disputes" go to an ad hoc Court of Arbitration.
Key Details
- Baglihar Dam dispute (2005-07) — resolved by a Neutral Expert, who determined the permissible design and freeboard of India's hydroelectric project on the Chenab.
- Kishenganga Arbitration (2010-13) — a Court of Arbitration allowed India to divert water for its Kishenganga project on a Jhelum tributary but mandated a minimum downstream flow of 9 cumecs into the Neelum river.
- A third case (Ratle hydroelectric project) has seen Pakistan and India pursue parallel, non-participatory proceedings before both a Neutral Expert and a Court of Arbitration since 2022 — a procedural split that has itself become contentious.
- Only three formal disputes have gone through this mechanism in over six decades, all concerning Indian hydroelectric projects on the Western Rivers.
With the Permanent Indus Commission non-functional since 2025, the treaty's entire institutional dispute-resolution architecture — the mechanism J&K's grievances would normally route through — is currently suspended.
Geography of the Indus River System
The Indus originates in Tibet near Lake Mansarovar and flows through Ladakh, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Pakistan before draining into the Arabian Sea; its five major tributaries (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) join it across the Punjab plains of India and Pakistan.
Key Details
- The Indus basin covers parts of India, Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan, though the IWT governs only the India-Pakistan portion.
- The Chenab and Jhelum flow through Jammu and Kashmir before entering Pakistan, making the Union Territory the upper riparian for the Western Rivers.
- Key India-side hydro projects on the Western Rivers include Baglihar and Salal (Chenab) and Kishenganga and Uri (Jhelum).
J&K's position as the upper riparian territory for the Western Rivers is precisely why treaty restrictions have historically constrained its dam, irrigation, and drinking-water infrastructure — and why the region has been the most vocal domestic advocate for continued abeyance.
- IWT signed: 19 September 1960; brokered by the World Bank.
- Rivers: Eastern (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India; Western (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan with limited Indian use rights.
- India placed IWT in abeyance: 23 April 2025, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack.
- Pakistan's dependence on Indus waters: ~80% of ~16 million hectares of agriculture; ~93% of total water use; ~237 million people supported.
- Formal treaty disputes resolved/pending: three — Baglihar (2007), Kishenganga (2013), Ratle (ongoing since 2022).
- Minimum flow mandated in Kishenganga award: 9 cubic metres per second into the Neelum (Kishenganga) river.