New Delhi: India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, has defended New Delhi’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, stating that Pakistan had effectively undermined the agreement’s founding principles long before India suspended it.
In an opinion article published in a US magazine, Kwatra said the 1960 treaty was built on the values of goodwill and friendship, but Pakistan gradually weakened those foundations through its actions over several decades. He argued that India’s decision to keep the treaty in abeyance merely acknowledged a reality created by Pakistan’s conduct over the years.
Kwatra said the treaty allocated the three eastern rivers of the Indus basin to India while granting Pakistan rights over the three western rivers. According to him, the arrangement provided Pakistan access to nearly 80 per cent of the basin’s waters, leaving India with approximately 20 per cent. Despite what he described as an unequal distribution, he said India continued to honour the agreement for decades.
The envoy also accused Pakistan of repeatedly opposing India’s efforts to modernise the treaty and adapt it to present day technological requirements, including projects aimed at expanding hydropower generation. He said these repeated objections steadily eroded India’s confidence in exercising its rights under the agreement or pursuing revisions suited to current realities.
Referring to recent developments, Kwatra criticised statements made at a conference held in Islamabad that opposed India’s decision to suspend the treaty. He said threats of conflict over the Indus river system reflected a recurring pattern of rhetoric that, according to him, has often been used to divert attention from Pakistan’s domestic challenges.
On the prospect of renewed dialogue between the two countries, Kwatra said previous rounds of talks had failed to produce meaningful outcomes. Reiterating India’s long standing position, he quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that terrorism cannot coexist with dialogue, trade or water cooperation, underscoring New Delhi’s view that cross border terrorism remains a major obstacle to normal bilateral relations.
