The images shows Liddar River in Pahalgam, Kashmir which flows into Pakistan’s Jhelum River
Pakistan Thursday said any Indian move to deny its share of water under an international water treaty, that New Delhi says has been suspended, would be considered an act of war as Islamabad closed its airspace and trade routes to India amid escalating tensions over killing of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Islamabad also suspended the 1972 Simla Agreement which provides the way for negotiations to resolve disputes over the strategic Jammu and Kashmir region, a critical source of water for the region.
The latest Pakistan-India standoff follows an attack on tourists in Pahalgam tourist area of Indian-administered Kashmir, a UN-recognized disputed Himalayan region, partly controlled and entirety claimed by both South Asian nuclear powers.
New Delhi said it was suspending the treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960. The treaty ensures that both India and Pakistan share the waters flowing from the mountains.
Pakistan’s National Security Committee that includes top political and military leaders said it “vehemently rejects the Indian announcement to hold the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance..”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Office said the NSC noted that the water pact was a binding international agreement that contained no provision for unilateral suspension.
“Water is a vital national interest of Pakistan, a lifeline for its 240 million people and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs,” a statement said.
“Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty, and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power.”
The two South Asian countries have fought several full-scale wars and battles, mainly over the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region. India blames Pakistan for stoking insurgency in the troubled region and sponsoring cross-border militancy. Islamabad has rejected the charges and accused New Delhi of inflaming insurgency in its southwestern resource-rich Balochistan, where China has invested heavily in the construction of a port and trade corridor. U.S. has also show interest in developing minerals in the area.
As per reports, Tuesday’s attack, claimed by a group called ‘The Resistance Front,’ massacred 26 tourists, 25 of them Hindus from various parts of India, who were visiting the popular resort. Another 17 were injured in the attack, when gunmen opened fire on the people.
New Delhi, which imposed a controversial rule over the strategic Himalayan region after ending its constitutional autonomy in 2019, vowed that a “loud and clear” response would be delivered to the April 23 attack.
On Wednesday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), Indians’ highest decision-making body on national security, met under Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Tuesday’s incident, where the “cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out.”
Reacting to Indian move to suspend water treaty and declaring its embassy officials as persona non grata as a “knee-jerk” reaction without any evidence of a Pakistani link to the attack.
The Pakistani NSC meeting on Thursday termed Indian actions as “unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible and devoid of legal merit.”
Both countries have also asked each other’s visiting citizens to return to their homes as their visas have been canceled.
The story is being updated.
