India says Pakistan eroded Indus Treaty, suspension

India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, has stated that Pakistan systematically eroded the foundation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty over decades, arguing that India’s subsequent decision to suspend the pact merely recognized a reality Islamabad had already created. In a published opinion piece, Kwatra directly linked India’s action to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, which killed 26 people, and to a long history of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Kwatra’s remarks follow a recent conference organized by Pakistan to protest India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance on April 23, 2025. At that gathering, a former Pakistani foreign minister reportedly warned of war if Pakistan’s demands on the Indus River system were ignored. The Indian ambassador characterized such threats as a standard policy to distract from internal problems.

The envoy outlined a historical narrative of Pakistani actions that, he argued, destroyed the treaty’s spirit. He noted that the agreement, signed with a preamble citing “goodwill and friendship,” allocated the three western rivers carrying roughly 80 percent of the basin’s water to Pakistan, while India...