Water And Blood Cannot Flow Together: Envoy Kwatra On Indus Water

WASHINGTON, DC-India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, has said the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), signed in 1960 in a spirit of goodwill and friendship, was undermined by Pakistan’s conduct over decades, and that India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance reflects that reality.

Writing in an opinion piece in Newsweek, Kwatra said India placed the treaty in abeyance after last year’s Pahalgam terror attack, exercising its rights as a sovereign nation under international law until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends its support for cross-border terrorism.

Kwatra said Pakistan’s approach toward India has been marked by wars, hostility and cross-border terrorist attacks, including the attacks on the Indian Parliament, Mumbai, Uri, Pathankot and Pahalgam. He also accused Pakistan of obstructing India-initiated projects and opposing India’s efforts to renegotiate the treaty to reflect technological changes, saying this eroded India’s faith in the agreement.

“It is worth remembering that the treaty’s preamble declares it was concluded ‘in a spirit of goodwill and friendship.’ Pakistan spent half a century dismantling that goodwill and friendship. The abeyance merely acknowledges what Pakistan’s conduct had already destroyed,” Kwatra wrote.

Responding to calls for India and Pakistan to resume talks, Kwatra cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s position, saying, “Terror and talks cannot go together… Terror and trade cannot go together…. Water and blood cannot flow together.”

He rejected Pakistan’s allegations that India is a “water aggressor,” saying the country’s water shortages stem from its own government’s mismanagement. Kwatra urged Pakistan to improve its water productivity instead of blaming India, adding that if Islamabad genuinely seeks India’s cooperation on bilateral issues, it must first dismantle the terror infrastructure it has built. (IANS)