Indus Water Treaty will never be reinstated: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has categorically ruled out the revival of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, asserting that India will now fully utilise the river waters flowing towards Pakistan for its own needs.

In an interview with The Times of India published on Saturday (June 21), Shah stated, “No, it will never be reinstated,” referring to the decades-old water-sharing agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960.

The treaty, considered one of the most enduring international accords, governs the distribution of water from the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan. Nearly 80% of Pakistan’s agricultural irrigation is dependent on this agreement.

Shah said the government plans to divert water from these rivers to meet domestic demands, particularly in Rajasthan. “We will build a canal and take the water that used to flow from Pakistan to Rajasthan. Pakistan will no longer get the water that it was getting illegally,” he added.

The development comes in the wake of heightened tensions between the two countries following a recent terrorist attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. India has blamed Pakistan for the attack—an allegation Islamabad has denied.

In response, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty, and the situation escalated briefly with cross-border airstrikes and skirmishes before a ceasefire was agreed upon.