New Delhi [India], May 27 (HBTV): The Indian government has decided to divert water allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty for use within four Indian states—Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi—according to sources. The Jal Shakti Ministry is expediting infrastructure development to implement this decision on a war footing.

Officials stated that the aim is to ensure not a single drop of water intended for Pakistan goes to waste. Instead, it will be harnessed to meet the water demands of the aforementioned Indian states, which face persistent shortages.

This move aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent declaration: ‘Desh ka pani desh ke haq me bahega’ (‘India's water will flow in India's favor’). The Jal Shakti Ministry has been pursuing this objective under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil held a review meeting on Friday at the ministry to discuss the Indus Waters Treaty. The meeting, which began around 4 PM and lasted for an hour, involved key discussions, with work already progressing at an accelerated pace, sources said. Further meetings to deliberate on the issue are expected soon.

On April 25, CR Patil stated that India would not allow Pakistan even a single drop of water, asserting that the decision to terminate the treaty would be fully implemented. He added that important points suggested by Home Minister Amit Shah during a meeting at his residence will be implemented step by step.

India has formally notified Pakistan of its decision regarding the Indus Waters Treaty. Secretary of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Devashree Mukherjee, sent a letter to Syed Ali Murtaza, Secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources, detailing India’s notification for proposed amendments.

The notice highlights that several fundamental assumptions of the treaty have changed over time and require reconsideration. These include demographic shifts, the need for accelerated clean energy development, and issues related to equitable water distribution. India contends that a treaty should be upheld in good faith, but alleges that Pakistan’s sustained support for cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir undermines that principle.

India claims that this security threat has hindered its ability to fully exercise its rights under the treaty. Additionally, Pakistan has allegedly failed to respond to India’s request for negotiations, thus breaching the treaty’s provisions.

The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960, governs the sharing of six rivers in the Indus basin—Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—between India and Pakistan. The western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) are allocated to Pakistan, while the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) are allocated to India.

Earlier today, World Bank President Ajay Banga clarified that the institution’s role in the matter is limited. ‘We have no role to play beyond a facilitator. There’s a lot of speculation in the media about how the World Bank will step in and fix the problem, but it’s all bunk. The World Bank’s role is merely as a facilitator,’ Banga said.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated following Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory strike by the Indian Armed Forces early Wednesday targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). The operation came in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

(ANI)