Pakistan has written to India for the fourth time, requesting it to reconsider its decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on hold, according to multiple reports.
The IWT was suspended following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that resulted in the death of 26 civilians.
Pakistan is on the verge of a water crisis and appears to be desperate, according to reports.
Reports stated that Pakistan wrote to India on the IWT even after Operation Sindoor.
Prime Minister Modi had earlier underlined the government's uncompromising position that "water and blood cannot flow together" and "terror and talks cannot happen at the same time".
According to government sources, India is currently not interested in holding talks with Pakistan on this issue, and the treaty will remain suspended.
The four letters sent by Syed Ali Murtaza, Secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources, were addressed to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, which has since then forwarded them to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), sources indicated.
In the letters, Murtaza has urged India to reinstate the agreement.
Invoking its national security powers, India has stated that the treaty will stay suspended until Islamabad "credibly and permanently" stops supporting cross-border terrorism.
This decision was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the highest body for strategic matters. This marks the first time New Delhi has paused the World Bank-backed agreement.
Following India pausing IWT, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has shown willingness to hold peace talks with India to resolve their ongoing conflicts. Several key Pakistani politicians have urged the government to defuse the growing "water crisis".
"We will face hunger if the water crisis is not resolved soon. The Indus Basin is our lifeline - three-quarters of our water comes from outside Pakistan, nine out of ten people depend on this basin for their livelihood, 90 per cent of our crops rely on this water, and all our power plants and dams are built around it. This is like a water bomb hanging over us, and we must defuse it," said Pakistan Senator Syed Ali Zafar during a Senate session last month.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960, governs how India and Pakistan share water from six rivers - Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.
India has accused Pakistan of violating the treaty by ignoring its spirit of cooperation, carrying out thousands of terror attacks, and blocking upgrades to water infrastructure needed for safety.
"Despite this, India has shown great patience and generosity. Significant changes have taken place, including rising security threats from cross-border terrorism, the need for clean energy, climate change, and population growth," said India’s Permanent Representative P Harish during a UN Security Council informal meeting in New York on May 24, responding to Pakistan’s misinformation campaign.
New Delhi has repeatedly asked Islamabad in the past two years to discuss treaty updates; however, it received no response.
"Pakistan has consistently blocked any changes to infrastructure or treaty provisions, even those allowed under the treaty," Harish added, stressing that while the treaty is based on goodwill and friendship, Pakistan has waged three wars and carried out thousands of terror attacks against India.
(With inputs from IANS)
