India-Pakistan Water Dispute Escalates as India Threatens to Withhold Indus Flows

India’s water minister announced that no water from the Indus River system would be allowed to reach Pakistan in coming years, citing directives from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pakistan’s foreign office warned that any attempt to block water vital to the livelihood of over 250 million Pakistanis could be deemed an act of war under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reinforced the stance, linking water supplies to Pakistan’s alleged support for cross‑border terrorism and stating that the Indus Waters Treaty remains suspended until Pakistan renounces such support. Singh cited the 2022 Pahalgam terror attack as justification for the suspension and emphasized that India will not let its rivers sustain terror sponsors. The escalating rhetoric highlights the fragility of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty and raises concerns of heightened regional tension between the two nuclear‑armed neighbours.