'Bit by bit, Pak eroded India's faith': Envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra on IWT pause

India's envoy to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, has warned that Pakistan has eroded the foundations of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) over the past five decades. According to Kwatra, Islamabad has "dismantled" the goodwill and friendship that underpinned the 1960 agreement. The treaty, which divided the waters of the six rivers of the Indus basin between India and Pakistan, has been kept in abeyance by New Delhi, a move Kwatra sees as acknowledging Pakistan's conduct.

The envoy's remarks came after Pakistan hosted a conference protesting India's decision to keep the IWT in abeyance last April, a day after Pakistani-trained terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The IWT, signed in 1960, gives India control over the eastern rivers while Pakistan receives rights over the western rivers.

Kwatra highlighted the longstanding asymmetry in water distribution, which has stifled development in Indian regions that could have benefited from better water rights. He also cited Pakistan's history of wars, hostility, and cross-border terrorism, including conflicts in 1965, 1971, and 1999, as well as major terror attacks since 2001.

Kwatra urged Pakistan to dismantle its terror infrastructure if it wants India's cooperation on bilateral issues. Regarding implementation of the treaty, Kwatra alleged that Pakistan has repeatedly delayed Indian projects and opposed renegotiating the agreement in view of technological advancements. He added that Pakistan has consistently blocked India's efforts to revisit the treaty, hindering India's development of its hydropower potential.

Kwatra concluded by emphasizing that past initiatives to resume talks have failed to address core concerns, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that terror and talks cannot go together, and similarly, terror and trade, and water and blood cannot coexist.