#DeepDive with Outlook | On April 23, 2025, India took an unprecedented step, announcing that the Indus Waters Treaty, a landmark water-sharing agreement with Pakistan, is now in abeyance.
The move came just days after the terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead and reignited tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbours.
For over six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty withstood the pressures of conflict—surviving the wars of 1965, 1971, and the 1999 Kargil War, as well as decades of political strain.
Now, for the first time, India signals a formal departure.
But what does this suspension really mean? Can a country simply pause a binding international treaty? And at what cost?
In this Deep Dive, we explore the history, legal frameworks, and implications of the abeyance on Indo-Pakistan relations.
Reporter: Aranya Mukerji
Camera: Suresh K Pandey
Editor: Sudhanshu
#IndusWatersTreaty #IndiaPakistanRelations #PahalgamAttack #Indus #Geopolitics #SouthAsia
The move came just days after the terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead and reignited tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbours.
For over six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty withstood the pressures of conflict—surviving the wars of 1965, 1971, and the 1999 Kargil War, as well as decades of political strain.
Now, for the first time, India signals a formal departure.
But what does this suspension really mean? Can a country simply pause a binding international treaty? And at what cost?
In this Deep Dive, we explore the history, legal frameworks, and implications of the abeyance on Indo-Pakistan relations.
Reporter: Aranya Mukerji
Camera: Suresh K Pandey
Editor: Sudhanshu
#IndusWatersTreaty #IndiaPakistanRelations #PahalgamAttack #Indus #Geopolitics #SouthAsia
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NewsTranscript
00:00What happens when water becomes a weapon? On April 23rd, 2025, India took an unprecedented step
00:08announcing that the Indus Waters Treaty, a landmark water-sharing agreement with Pakistan,
00:13is now in abeyance. The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect
00:20until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.
00:26The move came just days after the terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead
00:32and reignited tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
00:36For over six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty withstood the pressures of conflict,
00:40surviving the wars of 1965, 1971, and the 1999 Kargil War, as well as decades of political strain.
00:49Now, for the first time, India signals a formal departure.
00:53Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook.
00:56I'm Aranya Mukherjee, and today we will explore the history, legal frameworks,
01:01and implications of the abeyance on Indo-Pakistan relations.
01:05But what does this suspension really mean? Can a country simply pause an internationally binding
01:11treaty? And at what cost? The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960,
01:17divides control over six rivers between India and Pakistan. Pakistan received the three western rivers,
01:24Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. India retained control over the eastern rivers, Ravi, Bayas, and Sutlej. The treaty
01:31allowed for India to have limited agricultural use and hydroelectric development on the western rivers,
01:38but did not permit any alteration to their natural flow. Projects like the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab and later
01:45the Kishan Ganga project on the tributary of the Jhelum sparked regular disputes. Pakistan accused India of
01:52violating the treaty's intent alleging that withholding and manipulation of vital hydrological data occurred.
02:00India has maintained that it has operated within the treaty's parameters.
02:04So, can a treaty simply be paused? Under international law, the answer is not so straightforward.
02:10Under the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties signed by both India and Pakistan, international
02:16treaties are binding. Suspension is allowed only under what is called Article 62, which requires a
02:23fundamental change of circumstances that makes the treaty impossible to carry out. Legal experts remain
02:29divided on whether the Pahlkam attack meets that threshold. The Indian government argues that it
02:34can no longer sustain cooperation after repeated cross-border attacks. Pakistan has dismissed the
02:40linkage, rejecting the claim as unfair and unlawful, warning that this move could violate global diplomatic
02:47norms as well as Article 54 of the Geneva Convention that prohibits attacks on civilian objects like water
02:54infrastructure, especially if it's essential for the survival of civilian populations. There's more
03:00than just legality at stake. For Pakistan, the Indus is not just a river system, it is an agricultural
03:05backbone. Over 80 percent of farmland and around one-third of hydropower generated depends on water from the
03:13Indus Basin. Experts say that India lacks the massive storage infrastructure and extensive canal systems
03:20needed to withhold tens of billions of cubic meters of water from the western rivers.
03:26Even if infrastructure is created, the suspension's immediate impact is limited by geography.
03:31Roughly 97 percent of Pakistan's water flows naturally, driven by glacial melts and monsoon rains.
03:39India's capacity to regulate this flow, as of now, is restricted to around 1.5 million acre-feet,
03:46a fraction of the total amount. The danger for Pakistan lies in the long term. If India builds
03:52a full 3.6 million acre-feet of storage, it could manipulate seasonal flows, delay critical water
04:00releases, especially during Pakistan's sowing seasons. Whether the Indus will provide a bridge for cooperation
04:06or become another front for conflict will depend on how both nations and the world respond in the months
04:12ahead. Thank you for watching Deep Dive with Outlook and stay tuned for more explainers like this.