Reclaiming rights over Chenab waters

In a resolute policy shift following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the Union government is planning a significant recalibration of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)—a 1960 agreement that has long governed the shared use of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan.

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With the Treaty now held in abeyance, India has opened the door to maximizing its use of the Chenab River, and the contemplated expansion of the Ranbir Canal stands as the first real step toward reclaiming long-overdue water rights. For decades, the Treaty—brokered by the World Bank—has disproportionately benefitted Pakistan. India, despite being the upper riparian state, was constrained to using only a limited amount of water from the Chenab and other western rivers primarily for irrigation and domestic consumption, while Pakistan reaped the lion’s share. This self-imposed restraint, born of diplomatic goodwill, has persisted even as Pakistan continued to sponsor cross-border terrorism, violating the spirit of peace the Treaty symbolized. Now, India is rightfully asserting that treaty obligations cannot exist in a vacuum, detached from the ground realities of national security. Suspending the IWT, at least until Pakistan verifiably abandons terror as state policy, sends a powerful message: cooperation flows only when peace does.