New Delhi, May 7, 2026 — India announced on Thursday that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan will remain in abeyance until Islamabad credibly and irreversibly ends its support for cross‑border terrorism. The statement came as the government marked the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
At a weekly Ministry of External Affairs briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal recalled the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were killed, saying the world recognised the incident for what it was and that India was justified in responding. He noted that Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, 2025, involved coordinated strikes on terrorist infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan‑occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the massacre, which targeted civilians because of their religion.
Jaiswal accused Pakistan of long using cross‑border terrorism as an instrument of state policy and said New Delhi will continue to push for stronger international action against terrorism. He reiterated that India’s stance on the Indus Waters Treaty has not changed: the treaty remains suspended in response to Pakistan’s sponsorship of cross‑border terrorism, and Pakistan must credibly and irrevocably abandon that support before normal treaty relations can resume. He added that negotiations cannot proceed alongside acts of terror.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allocates the Indus river system between the two countries. Under the agreement Pakistan has rights over the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — while India manages the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The arrangement leaves Pakistan access to roughly 80% of the basin’s waters, with India retaining about 20% and limited uses of the western rivers for irrigation, power generation and other non‑consumptive purposes.
