New Delhi: India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty 1960, with Pakistan following the dastardly attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The treaty will remain suspended till the time the neighbouring country does not abandon its support for cross-border terrorism, said the government. The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty will have a negative impact on Pakistan.
What is Indus Water Treaty?
The Indus Water Treaty is an agreement signed between India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960. It allows sharing of river water between the 2 countries. Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan signed the agreement brokered by the World Bank on that day. The 2 countries engaged in discussion for 9 years, before finally signing the agreement.
Under the agreement, India has control over the 3 eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. While Pakistan gets water from the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. This treaty is beneficial for Pakistan as it gets 80 per cent of the total water that is flowing in these rivers. It is this water that is mainly used for agricultural purposes in the neighbouring country’s provinces of Punjab and Sindh. The waters of these rivers are also used in electricity generation and the agreement brokered by the World Bank allows both the countries limited use of the river assigned to the other.
Impact on Pakistan of suspension of Indus Water Treaty
Pakistan relies on the Indus River and its tributaries (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, allocated to Pakistan under the IWT) for approximately 80% of its irrigated agriculture, which contributes 21% to its GDP and supports 45% of its workforce.
The suspension will halt the flow of 39 billion cubic meters of water annually from India to Pakistan, threatening water availability for irrigation. The Indus Basin is critical to Pakistan’s economy. Agriculture and related industries form a significant portion of its GDP and water stoppage by India will have an impact upon agriculture. A disruption in water supply could lead to a sharp economic downturn, with ripple effects on trade, employment, and food prices.
Water scarcity will affect agro-based industries like textiles, sugar and rice milling which rely on agricultural inputs. This will potentially reduce exports and worsen Pakistan’s balance of payments. It is believed that Pakistan will seek help from the United Nations and the World Bank, which is also a signatory to the treaty, to challenge India’s unilateral suspension. However, the success of such efforts is uncertain, given India’s strategic influence and the treaty’s provisions allowing suspension under specific conditions.
The attack in the picturesque location of Pahalgam left 26 people dead. The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty is just one step that the Indian government has taken. Other measures like closing of the integrated check post at the Attari Border, suspension of travel of Pakistani nationals under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme and withdrawal of defence, naval, and air advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad are some of the other measures taken by India following this terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
