Following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, including a Nepali national, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey expressed strong support for the Centre’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. Taking to social media platform X, Dubey stated that the suspension would lead to severe consequences for Pakistan, saying, “Pakistanis will now die without water,” and referred to the decision as a result of a “56-inch chest” — a phrase often associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertive leadership style.
Dubey also made a controversial remark targeting former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He alleged that Nehru signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 to win the Nobel Prize, accusing him of “shedding Indian blood” by agreeing to share the waters of the Indus, Ravi, Beas, Chenab, and Sutlej rivers with Pakistan. In a fiery post, Dubey added, “Nehru ji, the hero of the agreement to give water to the snake… today Modi ji has stopped the food and water,” and further emphasized the BJP’s hardline stance by stating, “We are workers of Sanatani BJP; we will kill them after torturing them.”
On the government’s end, Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil is scheduled to meet with senior officials to discuss matters related to the Indus Waters Treaty. In his statement, Patil suggested that all past treaties with Pakistan should be reconsidered or canceled, although he acknowledged the process would take time. He described the suspension of the water treaty as a welcome move by the government.
Former Indus Water Commissioner of India, Pradeep Kumar Saxena, commented that this development could be a precursor to a full abrogation of the treaty. While the IWT itself does not contain provisions for unilateral termination, Saxena cited Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which allows for a treaty to be repudiated due to a fundamental change in circumstances from when it was originally signed.
The Pahalgam attack, which occurred in the Baisaran meadow, is one of the deadliest terror incidents in the Kashmir Valley since the Pulwama attack of 2019, where 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives.
