India reclaims water sovereignty, reassessing the Indus Waters Treaty amid rising hostilities

X: @vivekbhavsar

New Delhi: In a bold assertion of its sovereign rights, India is reportedly reconsidering the extent of its water cooperation with Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), as public and strategic pressure mounts following repeated cross-border terrorist attacks and hostile acts originating from Pakistan.

The move to potentially limit or fully utilize the waters of the western rivers — including the Sindhu (Indus) and Jhelum — marks a shift in India’s decades-long posture of restraint, despite Pakistan’s misuse of goodwill. The government has clarified that any such steps would remain within the legal framework of the treaty, which already allows India restricted use of these rivers for non-consumptive purposes like irrigation and hydropower.

A Treaty of Generosity, Not Obligation

Experts argue that the Indus Waters Treaty — brokered by the World Bank and signed at a time (September 19, 1960) when India had little bargaining power — has been one of the most generous water-sharing agreements in the world. Despite being the upper riparian state, India agreed to let Pakistan use over 80% of the Indus water systems. In return, Pakistan has offered little but only hostility.

“Why should India continue to honour the treaty in letter and spirit when Pakistan violates every principle of peaceful coexistence — from exporting terror to fomenting unrest in Kashmir?” asks a former diplomat. “No sovereign nation can be expected to supply life-sustaining water to an enemy state while its own soldiers and civilians are targeted across the border.”

Strategic Leverage, Not Water War

India is not violating international norms but merely reasserting its undeniable rights under the IWT. Projects like the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower plants are perfectly legal under the treaty, and India is well within its rights to build more such infrastructure. By fully utilizing its share, India is signalling that it will no longer remain passive while its neighbour wages asymmetric warfare.

“This isn’t about weaponizing water. It’s about national security and fairness. You can’t keep rewarding bad behaviour forever,” notes a senior security analyst.

Pakistan’s Water Woes Are Self-Created

While Islamabad cries foul, water experts point out that Pakistan’s water crisis stems more from mismanagement, over-extraction, poor irrigation practices, and population growth than anything India has done. Blaming India has become a convenient excuse to cover decades of governance failure.

A New Water Doctrine?

If Pakistan can backtrack on trade, people-to-people ties, and even airspace agreements with India over political issues, then India, too, has every right to revisit outdated arrangements that no longer serve its national interest. Water security is national security — and India is finally treating it as such.