Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Thursday that Pakistan will not receive water from rivers over which India has rights, following New Delhi’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir last month.
The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, was among several measures India announced against Pakistan after the April 22 attack that resulted in the deaths of 26 people, primarily Hindu tourists.
India accused Pakistan of backing the attack, a claim Islamabad denied. The nuclear-armed neighbors engaged in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10.
“Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack … Pakistan’s army will pay it, Pakistan’s economy will pay it,” Modi stated at a public event in Rajasthan, a state bordering Pakistan.
The Indus treaty provides water for 80% of Pakistan’s farms from three rivers originating in India, but Pakistan’s finance minister has stated that its suspension would not have “any immediate impact.”
While the ceasefire between the countries has largely held, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar noted that there is currently no exchange of fire and that there has been some repositioning of forces.
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Jaishankar emphasized that the military operation continues, sending a clear message that acts like the April 22 attack will be met with a response, and that India will target the terrorists responsible. He added that if the terrorists are in Pakistan, India will strike them there.
There was no immediate response from Pakistan to the comments made by Modi and Jaishankar.
India and Pakistan have a history of strained relations since their creation in 1947 and have fought three wars, two of which were over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but control in part.
New Delhi also accuses Pakistan of supporting Islamist separatists fighting security forces in its part of Kashmir, an accusation Islamabad denies.
Since the April attack in Kashmir, the rivals have taken several actions against each other, including suspending trade, closing land borders, and suspending most visas.
