'Paani aur khoon...': PM Modi's stern message to Pakistan on Indus Waters Treaty suspension

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Addressing the nation for the first time since Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12  made it clear that India will not hold talks with Pakistan on Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) until the neighbouring country takes action on terrorists hiding in its country.

"Paani aur khoon ek saath nhi beh sakta (Water and blood cannot flow together)," PM Modi said in his address.

India on April 23 put the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance after at least 26 people were killed in a terror attack in Jammu Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. The move is unprecedented as India never touched the treaty even during wars with Pakistan.

Also Read: Hydropower generation from Jammu and Kashmir may increase by 30% this season.

What is the Indus Waters Treaty?

The Indus Waters Treaty, mediated by the World Bank in 1960, regulates the division of water from the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan.

As per the treaty, India was allowed unrestricted use of all the water of the "eastern rivers" of the Indus system—Sutlej, Beas and Ravi. Pakistan, meanwhile, was allowed to receive water from the "western rivers"— Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

Treaty to remain suspended despite ceasefire

From April 23, India stopped sending flood warning messages regarding the rivers to Pakistan, something that was normally shared by India every year, especially from July 1 to October 10. Other information sharing that has been stopped includes some irrigation statistics of the western rivers for the kharif and rabi seasons.

Also Read: India to commission 2 power projects on Chenab in 2026, contractors summoned.

Such input is important to Pakistan because it gets 80 percent (135 million acre feet) of water from the Indus and its tributaries. Moreover, 93 percent of this water is used for agricultural activities there.

Fluctuations in river flow to be common now

India has six operational hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir through which it has resorted to fluctuations in the river flow of the western rivers.

To be sure, India has no large storage infrastructure ready on the Indus river system to hold large water quantities for longer periods. Hence, it is resorting to making the flow of the rivers, especially Chenab and Jhelum unpredictable for Pakistan.

Ever since India put the Treaty in abeyance, efforts have begun on the Indian side to frequently fill the reservoirs of hydropower plants, followed by flushing the waters to clear sedimentation, a process that is expected to help improve power generation.

Most recently, it was the Salal and Baglihar dams which were once again flushed out.

Going forward India plans to use these rivers to address irrigation and water needs of its own states.