India threatens to starve Pakistan by diverting river water. New Delhi said it will starve Pakistan by diverting water flowing into the neighboring country to India’s Rajasthan state and will not revive a water distribution treaty that it suspended in April, following a militant attack in the disputed Kashmir region and last month’s deadly conflict between South Asian nuclear-armed neighbors.
Islamabad says any attempt to block its share of water it has been receiving since 1960 under the Indus Water Treaty would be considered an act of war.
“We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably,” Home Minister Amit Shah, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said.
Specifically talking about the Indus Water Treaty, Shah said, “No, it will never be restored.”
His threat against Pakistan during an interview with Times of India came as Pakistan considered its options in the event of India stopping its share of water under the World Bank-brokered treaty.
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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government have argued that the treaty cannot be unilaterally revoked by any party and termed Indian stance as “act of water aggression.”
Indian prime minister Modi’s rightwing government suspended the water treaty in April after it blamed Pakistan for links to a terrorist attack that killed 26 Indian tourists. Islamabad firmly denied the charge and sought any evidence.
On May 7, 2025, India attacked Pakistan, launching strikes into Pakistani cities against what it called terrorist sites.
Pakistan responded with a strong defense, downing half a dozen Indian warplanes including French high-tech Rafale jets.
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It was only after U.S. President Donald Trump intervened that the two countries agreed to a ceasefire on May 10.
Later, President Trump said he saved the world from the edge of a nuclear conflict.
The head of a major Pakistani political party and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during a recent visit to Washington D.C. as head of a delegation told American audience that by stopping waterflows into Pakistan India is laying the groundwork for the first nuclear war over water.
Meanwhile, India plans to massively divert Pakistani share of water from a major river,
Islamabad, which says India has yet not shared any evidence to support its claim of a Pakistani link to April 22 attack in Pahalgam area of the disputed Kashmir region, has indicated that it could also mount a legal challenge to New Delhi’s violation of the treaty under international law.
Pakistan also offered its participation in a neutral investigation into the incident soon after but India rejected the proposal.
Asim Tanveer is a seasoned journalist working for TV and electronic and print media outlets. He has been working for some of the world’s leading news organizations including Associated Press (AP), Reuters, BBC, CNN, CNBC, Star TV, Voice of America and The New York Times for more than 30 years. He has won several awards for his live coverage of events that include a Reuters News Agency World Award and the Pride of Performance award in 1997.
