Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami strongly supported the move to suspend the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan

Dehradun: Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, has expressed his full support for the recent actions taken by the Center after the terror incident in Pahalgam, especially the decision to halt the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting on Friday where the decisions were taken.

“Historic and tough,” Chief Minister Dhami told reporters of the decision. He emphasized that under the Prime Minister’s resolute leadership, India has started to carry out a daring counterterrorism strategy.

According to Dhami, the Prime Minister’s audacious actions have not only solidified India’s “zero tolerance” stance against terrorism but have also made it abundantly evident to the country’s adversaries that it is prepared to respond appropriately to any terrorist strike.

He said that the federal government had made it obvious that blood and water could no longer flow together by outlawing the Indus Water Treaty. The ambitions of Pakistan, which harbors and encourages terrorists, will be destroyed by this firm decision. Similar to this, Pakistan has received a strong message from previous actions, such as the closing of the border checkpoint at Attari.

According to reports on Friday, the administration has also formally announced that the Indus Water Treaty is being held in abeyance. In a letter to her Pakistani counterpart Syed Ali Murtaza on Thursday, Jal Shakti Ministry Secretary Debashree Mukherjee said that the Indian government has determined that “the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect.”

“These communications cited fundamental changes in the circumstances that have taken place since the Treaty was executed that require a reassessment of obligations under the various Articles of the Treaty read with its Annexures,” the letter said.

In the midst of continuing developments about the terror incident near Pahalgam town in Jammu and Kashmir, a high-level conference was held at the Ministry of Home Affairs the same day.

Following the terror attack, the Central government announced a number of diplomatic actions, including closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari, suspending Pakistani nationals’ access to the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES), allowing them to return to their country within 40 hours, and lowering the number of officers in both sides’ High Commissions.

Following the Pahalgam assault, India also terminated the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. On April 22, terrorists assaulted visitors in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Meadow, killing 25 Indians and one Nepali while injuring a number of others.

With the help of the World Bank, which is also a party to the pact, India and Pakistan negotiated the Indus Waters pact for nine years before signing it in 1960. Former World Bank President Eugene Black started the negotiations.

Despite enduring many difficulties, including violence, it is regarded as one of the most effective international accords. For more than 50 years, it has offered a foundation for the growth of hydropower and irrigation.

The Treaty gives India control over the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) and Pakistan control over the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab). The Treaty also permits each nation to utilize the rivers that are allotted to it in certain ways. According to the pact, India would get 20% of the water from the Indus River System, while Pakistan would receive the remaining 80%.

In his earlier remarks, Chief Minister Dhami paid his respects to the victims of the recent Pahalgam terror assault in Jammu and Kashmir and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India was the new India and that the Indian Army will move decisively to eliminate the terrorists responsible.