India and Pakistan Are at a Dangerous Moment
This standoff is more perilous than ever, now that the US cannot be relied upon to bring New Delhi and Islamabad back from the brink.
A candlelit vigil in Kashmir.
Photographer: Yawar Nazir/Getty Images
The treaty parceling out the waters of the Indus River and its five great tributaries between India and Pakistan was signed 65 years ago. Three eastern rivers, and about 30 per cent of the total water, were assigned to India, and the others to Pakistan. It has long been celebrated as the most enduring compact between geopolitical rivals in modern history. But, following this week’s terrorist attack on tourists in Kashmir, the Indian government abandoned the agreement.
This is a remarkable departure from the past. The Indus Waters Treaty survived three wars — in 1965, 1971, and 1999 — as well as militarized face-offs and countless acts of cross-border terror. That it did not survive this latest outrage is an indication of how much it shocked India’s leaders. While civilians, including Hindu pilgrims, have been targets before, in recent years the most deadly militant raids in Kashmir have been on the army or the police. In 2016, an army base in the town of Uri was hit with grenades; and in 2019, a paramilitary police convoy was ambushed by a car bomb.