In a diplomatic and environmental standoff that may define future India-Pakistan relations, Islamabad has written four back-to-back letters to New Delhi requesting reconsideration of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) suspension. The letters were sent after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu, and Kashmir, which killed 26 Indian tourists and led India to temporarily withdraw from the 1960 water-sharing agreement.

Pakistan is staring at a water crisis and appears to be desperate, people familiar with the matter said.

Even after India launched Operation Sindoor, a counterterror strike targeting infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), Pakistan went ahead and submitted a formal appeal on the IWT, sources confirmed.

India Puts Indus Waters Treaty on Hold After Pahalgam Attack

India made its position clear following the April 22 Pahalgam attack, stating that terror and trade cannot go together—and extending the same logic to the sharing of natural resources.

"Blood and water also can't flow together," sources quoted Indian officials as saying. Though the Indus Waters Treaty was made in good faith and with a desire to bring peace, Pakistan has acted in contravention of its spirit by encouraging cross-border terror, officers said.

The 1960 treaty, facilitated by the World Bank, governs the sharing of the Indus River and its five tributaries—Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—between India and Pakistan.

However, India exercised its right to national security prerogatives, making it clear that the Treaty comes into play only after Islamabad can credibly and irrevocably prevent its encouragement of cross-border terrorism.

Pakistan Sends Four Letters, Seeks Treaty Revival Amid Water Crisis

According to sources, Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza authored the four letters that were sent to India’s Jal Shakti Ministry, which then forwarded them to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). These letters came in quick succession, highlighting the urgency and gravity of Pakistan’s growing concerns.

The letters emphasize Islamabad's request to India to reinstate the IWT, citing a severe water crisis that threatens not just agriculture but also energy and daily livelihood.

Operation Sindoor Changes Diplomatic Equations

India's military reaction—Operation Sindoor—focussed on terror camps in PoK and the Pakistan border. A sequel to the Pahalgam attack, it represented an explicit policy shift by India to associate acts of terrorism with bilateral agreements that had earlier been considered divorced from politics or security concerns.

Following the operation, Pakistan's diplomatic tone changed, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif being seen to be willing to engage in peace talks with India, sources indicated. The overture was in response to widespread calls from Pakistani political figures warning of an impending disaster.

"We Would Die of Hunger": Pakistani Leaders Raise Alarm

The anxiety across Pakistan’s political spectrum is palpable. The suspension of the IWT is being seen not merely as a diplomatic rebuke but as a life-threatening challenge.

"We would die of hunger if we don't resolve the water crisis now. The Indus Basin is our lifeline as three-fourths of our water comes from outside the country, nine out of 10 people depend on the Indus water basin for their living, as much as 90% of our crops rely on this water, and all our power projects and dams are built on it. This is like a water bomb hanging over us and we must defuse it," said Pakistan Senator Syed Ali Zafar in May.

This stark warning was echoed across parliamentary debates and media discussions, underscoring the strategic significance of the IWT for Pakistan's national survival.

Treaty Under Strain Amid Cross-Border Terrorism

While the original intent of the IWT was to maintain peace over shared water resources, India believes that Pakistan has violated the spirit of goodwill repeatedly by sponsoring terrorism and blocking critical upgrades to water infrastructure.

"Far-reaching fundamental changes have taken place not only in terms of escalating security concerns through cross-border terror attacks, but also growing requirements for producing clean energy, climate change, and demographic change," said India's Permanent Representative P Harish at an informal meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on May 24.

India’s Stand: Blood and Water Can’t Flow Together

India has reiterated that its patience is not limitless, especially in the face of continued provocation. It has held firm that any future cooperation under the IWT is conditional upon a credible shift in Pakistan’s policy on terror.

Even as Pakistan struggles with water shortages, India remains resolute. The move to suspend the IWT is viewed in India not only as a diplomatic signal but also as a defensive action aimed at safeguarding national security and long-term ecological interests.

Calls for Treaty Modification Ignored by Pakistan

India has in the past approached Pakistan, requesting that some of the IWT be amended to more accurately represent 21st-century circumstances—climate change, population stress, and renewable energy necessity.

"Pakistan has continued to consistently block any changes to this infrastructure, and any modifications of the provisions, which are permissible under the treaty," Mr. Harish said, emphasizing that Pakistan's rigidity has only increased the trust deficit.

Even as the waters of diplomacy run dry, New Delhi maintains that dialogue is possible—but only if Islamabad takes irreversible steps to dismantle terror networks and honor the foundational spirit of the treaty.

India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty marks a historic turn in subcontinental diplomacy. For Pakistan, the clock is ticking—not just on talks, but on survival.

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