Rift over the Indus: India's Water Diplomacy Shifts

India has declared it will divert water from the Indus River system, previously flowing to Pakistan, for internal use following tensions with Islamabad. The move effectively ends the Indus Waters Treaty, originally established in 1960. Pakistan warns this could escalate to an 'act of war,' exploring legal challenges.

India has asserted its intention to redirect water from the Indus River system, previously allotted to Pakistan under the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, for internal use, Home Minister Amit Shah revealed in an interview with the Times of India.

The treaty, which guarantees water access from Indian-origin rivers to Pakistan's agricultural heartland, was put into abeyance following an attack in Indian Kashmir. Shah's remarks indicate a permanent cessation of treaty obligations, as India plans infrastructural changes to reroute the water to its state of Rajasthan.

Pakistan, denying involvement in the Kashmir incident, views any such action as provoking, and possibly an 'act of war', and is considering an international legal challenge. Meanwhile, it remains silent on recent communications requests from media regarding these developments.

(With inputs from agencies.)