Name: Vivek Sumberia
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Vol-11, No.2, July-Dec-2026
Page Number: 193-199
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22269573

ABSTRACT
India and Pakistan signed the Indus Water Treaty on 19 September 1960. The treaty divides the waters of the Indus River Basin between India and Pakistan. The treaty assigned approximately 80 percent of the basin’s flows to Pakistan through exclusive rights over the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab). The eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) were assigned to India. Despite the treaty being unfavourable to India, India honoured it throughout the turbulent history of relations between India and Pakistan. On 22nd April 2025, terrorists sponsored by Pakistan attacked tourists in Pahalgam and killed 26 of them. On 23 April 2025 India decided to hold the treaty in abeyance. As an upper riparian state, India holds sway over the distribution and flow of water. Pakistan is heavily dependent on the Indus River system for irrigation and drinking purposes. Three of the six rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) over which Pakistan has exclusive rights flow through J&K. Jammu and Kashmir is already the flashpoint of the India-Pakistan conflict. The abeyance of the treaty impacts the geopolitics of both countries, and Jammu and Kashmir is in the middle. This paper explores the geopolitical implications of this decision for India and Jammu and Kashmir.

Keywords: Indus Water Treaty, Hydro politics, Western Himalayas, Jammu and Kashmir.