Calling for a strong response after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed, former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal has called for the indefinite suspension of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, asserting that “blood and water” can’t go together.
The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s dastardly attack.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Mr Sibal, who was the Indian ambassador to Russia and is now the Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, also pointed to the timing of the massacre – during US Vice-President JD Vance’s visit – stating that India is in a favourable position with the US.
“It is time to suspend the Indus Water Treaty indefinitely as a truly meaningful response to the latest terrorist outrage in Pahalgam instigated by Pakistan. We have earlier said that blood and water can’t go together. Let’s act on our own declared position. This will be a strategic response,” Mr Sibal wrote.
“We are in a favourable position on this with the US as the terrorist attack has occurred during Vance’s visit. Trump and Vance have strong views on Islamic extremism and terrorism,” he added.
It it time to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty indefinitely as a truly meaningful response to the latest terrorist outrage in Pahalgam instigated by Pakistan.
We have earlier said that blood and water can’t go together. Let’s act on our own declared position .
This will be a…
— Kanwal Sibal (@KanwalSibal) April 22, 2025
Alluding to the strained ties with Bangladesh, Mr Sibal said suspending the Indus Water Treaty will send a “salutary message” to the country too.
Signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan, the Indus Water Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two sides on the use of the waters of a number of cross-border rivers.
The World Bank was also a signatory to the pact and India’s position on two hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir under the treaty was upheld by a neutral expert appointed by the organisation in January.
“It has been India’s consistent and principled position that the Neutral Expert alone has the competence under the Treaty to decide these differences” on the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants in the Union Territory, the Ministry of External Affairs had said.
In August last year, India had also served a notice to Pakistan seeking a review of the Treaty, stating that “fundamental and unforeseen” changes in circumstances necessitated a reassessment. Some reports had said cross-border terrorism from Pakistan was one of the reasons behind the notice.
‘Strong Response’
Tuesday’s attack in the hilltop meadow of Baisaran had killed 26 people, including a Navy officer and an officer from the Intelligence Bureau. Terrorists reportedly sought the identity of people in the area, most of whom were tourists, before shooting them – many at point-blank range.
As a manhunt for the terrorists is underway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday evening.
Just before the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India will respond strongly, and soon.
“Those responsible for such acts will receive a strong response in the near future. We won’t punish only the monsters who carried out this act of brutality and barbarism, we will also reach those who hid behind a curtain to carry out this conspiracy. Attackers and their masters will be targeted,” he said.
