India has officially suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan. This move from India came after the terror attack in Pahalgam. This move marks a major shift in its approach to water-sharing and bilateral relations with its western neighbour.

The Indian Government has planned to block the flow of the Indus River water into Pakistan. This decision was taken by the central government on April 24, 2025. The treaty governed the shared use of the Indus River and its six tributaries — assigning the eastern rivers (Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas) to India and the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) to Pakistan. Under this long-standing agreement, Pakistan has typically received about 135 million acre-feet (MAF) of water each year, accounting for roughly 70% of the total flow in the Indus River system.

What Is The Three-Phase Plan To Stop The Flow Of Water?

The Indian government recently established a multi-phase strategy, including short-term, mid-term, and long-term phases, to execute the decision of water restrictions towards Pakistan. This decision was taken during the meeting held at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence.

The short-term plan includes the administrative actions. The preventive strategy focuses on strengthening counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir and removing Pakistani nationals from the country while ending all types of Pakistani visas except Long Term Visas (LTVs) issued to Pakistani Hindu refugees.

The infrastructure component of the mid-term and long-term strategy aims to enhance Indian water resources and direct them towards uses that would normally benefit Pakistan.

Union Minister of Jal Shakti, CR Patil, mentioned in his X post that, “The historic decision taken by the Modi government on the Indus Water Treaty is completely justified and in the national interest. We will ensure that not even a drop of water from the Indus River goes to Pakistan.”

Responding to this move, officials in Pakistan have called it ‘an act of war’.