Indus Waters Treaty will not remain operational in its present form, says official

📌 Summary:

• A senior official said on July 20, 2026 that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) requires review and renegotiation and will not remain operational in its present form

• India placed the treaty in "abeyance" after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, 2025; the official said there has been no change in Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism since

• Core argument: India cannot be compelled to remain bound by the treaty because a changed "set of circumstances" — Pakistan's continued support for cross-border terrorism — has compelled the abeyance

• Second stated reason: climate change is reducing water volumes in the eastern rivers of the Indus system, making the 1960 allocation formula obsolete

• Official position: if river-water-sharing provisions are to be reactivated, they must be in a DIFFERENT form, not the present one

• On the China angle: the official asserted India negating the IWT would NOT set a precedent for China's Brahmaputra dam project, because India and China have no treaty on the Brahmaputra (only MoUs on hydrological data sharing)

• Pakistan has intensified its international campaign on the issue in the recent past

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (India–Pakistan relations, international treaties, effect of terrorism on bilateral agreements) and GS1/GS3 (transboundary river management, climate change impact on water availability). A live case study on whether changed circumstances (rebus sic stantibus) justify treaty suspension under international law.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• IWT signed in 1960, brokered by the World Bank; signatories Jawaharlal Nehru and Ayub Khan

• Eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) allocated to India; Western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) largely to Pakistan

• Treaty came into force in 1960 and has a Permanent Indus Commission mechanism

• India placed the treaty in abeyance after the Pahalgam attack (April 2025)

• India and China have no treaty on the Brahmaputra — only data-sharing arrangements

🔑 Key Term: Abeyance — a state of temporary suspension or inactivity; distinct from formal withdrawal or abrogation, it holds treaty obligations in suspension without terminating the treaty outright.