Amit Shah Says No Pak, India Will Divert Indus Water to Rajasthan

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI — India will not reinstate the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, and water currently flowing across the border will instead be redirected for domestic use, Home Minister Amit Shah said in a televised interview on June 21.

The 1960 treaty, brokered by the World Bank, had ensured Pakistan access to water from three rivers originating in India—vital for irrigating about 80% of its farmland. However, India suspended its participation after a deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 civilians, which New Delhi has blamed on Pak abetted terrorism.

Shah dismissed any prospect of returning to the treaty. “No, it will never be restored,” he stated. “We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably.”

Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack, and the ceasefire agreement reached between the two nuclear-armed neighbors last month has done little to revive the dormant accord.

Shah’s remarks have further dimmed any hope in Islamabad for a diplomatic resolution over the water-sharing pact, Reuters reported.

India had already signaled its intentions last month to sharply ramp up usage of water from rivers flowing into Pakistan, as part of what officials called retaliatory measures. According to Reuters, Pakistan is now weighing a legal challenge under international law to India’s decision to put the treaty into abeyance.