New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is heading home on Wednesday night, cutting short his visit to the United States, to attend a meeting of the party’s highest decision-making body CWC and discuss the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet on Thursday to discuss the terror attack in which at least 26 people were killed.

In a post on X, party General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has cut short his US visit and will be attending in person the CWC meeting in New Delhi tomorrow at 10:30 am.”

Gandhi arrived in Boston in the US on Saturday and interacted with business and community members.

Mumbai: India has said the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) of 1960 with Pakistan will be held in abeyance with immediate effect, until Islamabad credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.

The move on Wednesday after the killing of 26 persons, including tourists, in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

What could be the impact of this move?

The Indus system of rivers comprises the main river — the Indus — along with its five left bank tributaries, namely, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej, the Jhelum and the Chenab. The right bank tributary, the Kabul, does not flow through India.

The Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej are together called eastern rivers while the Chenab, the Jhelum and the Indus main are called as western rivers. Its waters are critical to both India and Pakistan.

Pradeep Kumar Saxena, who served as India’s Indus Water Commissioner for over six years and has been associated with work related to the IWT, said India, as an upper riparian country, has multiple options.

“This could be the first step towards the abrogation of the treaty, if the government so decides,” Saxena told PTI on Wednesday.

“Although there is no explicit provision in the treaty for its abrogation, Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on Law of the Treaties provides sufficient room under which the treaty can be repudiated in view of the fundamental change of circumstances which has occurred with regard to those existing at the time of conclusion of the treaty,” he said.

Last year, India sent a formal notice to Pakistan, seeking the “review and modification” of the treaty.

Listing out the steps India could take, Saxena said in the absence of the treaty, India is under no obligation to follow the restrictions on the “reservoir flushing” of the Kishanganga reservoir and other projects on western rivers in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indus Water Treaty currently prohibits it.

Flushing can help India desilt its reservoir but then filling the entire reservoir could take days. Under the treaty, reservoir filling after the flushing has to be done in August — peak monsoon period — but with the pact in abeyance, it could be done anytime.

Doing it when sowing season begins in Pakistan could be detrimental, especially when a large part of Punjab in Pakistan depends on the Indus and its tributaries for irrigation.

According to the treaty, there are design restrictions on building structures like dams on Indus and its tributaries. In the past, Pakistan has raised objections over the designs but in future it will not be obligatory to take the concerns onboard.

In the past almost every project has been objected to by Pakistan.

Notable are Salal, Baglihar, Uri, Chutak, Nimoo Bazgo, Kishenganga, Pakal Dul, Miyar, Lower Kalnai and Ratle.

After the Pulwama terror attack in 2019, the government cleared eight more hydropower projects in Ladakh.

The objections may no longer be applicable for the new projects.

There are also operational restrictions on how reservoirs are to be filled and operated. With the treaty in abeyance, these are no longer applicable.

Saxena said India can stop sharing flood data on the rivers. This could also prove detrimental to Pakistan, especially during the monsoon when rivers swell.

India will now have no restriction on storage on western rivers, particularly the Jhelum, and the country can take a number of flood control measures to mitigate floods in the Valley, he said.

The tours of Pakistan side to India, which are mandatory under the treaty, may now be stopped.

At the time of Independence, the boundary line between the two newly created independent countries — Pakistan and India — was drawn right across the Indus Basin, leaving Pakistan as the lower riparian and India as the upper riparian.

Two important irrigation works, one at Madhopur on the Ravi river and the other at Ferozepur on the Sutlej river, on which the irrigation canal supplies in Punjab (Pakistan) had been completely dependent, fell in the Indian territory.

A dispute thus arose between the two countries regarding the utilisation of irrigation water from existing facilities. Negotiations held under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) culminated in the signing of the Indus Water Treaty in 1960.

According to the treaty, all the waters of the eastern rivers – Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi with an average annual flow of around 33 million acre feet (MAF) is allocated to India for unrestricted use while the waters of western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab with average annual flow of around 135 MAF is allocated largely to Pakistan.

However, India is permitted to use the waters of the western rivers for domestic use, non-consumptive use, agricultural and generation of hydro-electric power. The right to generate hydroelectricity from western rivers is unrestricted subject to conditions for the design and operation of the treaty. India can also create storages up to 3.6 MAF on western rivers, the pact states.

Bengaluru: Bodies of two tourists from Karnataka who were shot dead by the terrorists in the Pahalgam terror attack were brought to the Kempegowda International Airport here on Thursday.

Manjunath Rao and Bharath Bushan were among the 26 people killed in front of their families after confirming their religious identity in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday. Most of those killed by terrorists were tourists.

Union Minister V Somanna along with Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya accompanied the mortal remains of the tourists.

While Rao’s body was taken to his hometown Shivamogga, Bushan will be cremated in Bengaluru. 

Speaking to reporters, BJP MP Surya said that India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to retaliate to this terror attack.

New Delhi: In response to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 28 people, India on Wednesday announced the suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. The decision was part of a set of retaliatory measures aimed at pressuring Islamabad to withdraw its support for cross-border terrorism.

The announcement was made by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during a press conference held after a high-level meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Misri stated that the treaty would remain suspended until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for terrorism.

What is the Indus Waters Treaty?

Signed on 19 September 1960 in Karachi, the Indus Waters Treaty was brokered by the World Bank and signed by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s President Field Marshal Ayub Khan. The treaty outlines the division of the Indus River system between the two countries.

Under the agreement, India was given control over the eastern rivers, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, while Pakistan was allocated the waters of the western rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. While India is permitted to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers, Pakistan retains the right to raise objections on project designs.

The river system plays a crucial role in both countries’ agriculture and water supply. After the 1947 partition, Pakistan became the lower riparian state and India the upper riparian state, necessitating an agreement to prevent future disputes.

The treaty includes 12 Articles and 8 Annexures, and was known for surviving multiple Indo-Pak conflicts. India had already sent a notice to Pakistan in September last year seeking a review and modification of the treaty.

What can India now do under the suspension?

According to P. K. Saxena, former Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters:
– India may stop sharing water flow data with Pakistan
– India can build storage infrastructure on Western Rivers like the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab
– Pakistan officials may be denied access to inspect Indian hydropower projects
– India can begin reservoir flushing techniques at projects like Kishenganga to improve dam longevity

However, Saxena clarified that immediate disruption of Pakistan’s water supply is unlikely, as India lacks the infrastructure to stop or divert river flows at present.

Legal implications and Pakistan’s options

The IWT does not include an exit clause, making unilateral withdrawal technically illegal. While it includes a dispute resolution mechanism (Article IX and Annexures F & G), this is limited to disputes within the treaty’s scope, not enforcement of the treaty itself.

In 2016, Pakistani legal expert Ahmer Bilal Soofi said arbitration would be ineffective if India refuses to recognise the treaty, and Pakistan cannot approach the ICJ due to India’s reservations under the ICJ statute.

Longstanding tensions over Hydroelectric projects

Disputes over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir have long strained the treaty. In January 2023, India sent its first-ever notice seeking modification of the treaty, followed by a second notice in September 2024.

Pakistan has opposed the projects’ design, claiming they violate IWT provisions. Though these are “run-of-the-river” projects that do not obstruct river flow, Islamabad argues they could be misused to manipulate water supply.

India, citing Pakistan’s continued resistance, invoked Article XII(3), which allows modification of the treaty through mutual consent.

Role of neutral expert

In January 2025, Michel Lino, a Neutral Expert appointed by the World Bank, ruled that he was competent to adjudicate the dispute over the Kishenganga and Ratle projects. While Pakistan claimed the differences exceeded the expert’s mandate, India argued they were well within the treaty’s provisions.

What happens next?

Pakistan is yet to officially respond to India’s suspension. However, the move is likely to escalate tensions, both diplomatically and politically. Given the treaty’s pivotal role in Indo-Pak relations and South Asia’s water security, the consequences of this suspension could be profound and long-lasting.

Additional measures announced

Apart from suspending the treaty, the Indian government unveiled a series of other diplomatic and security steps:

1. Closure of Attari checkpost: The integrated checkpost at Attari has been shut. Pakistani nationals who entered through this route may return before 1 May 2025.

2. Visa cancellations: All SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas previously issued to Pakistani nationals have been cancelled. Those already in India under SVES have 48 hours to leave.

3. Expulsion of defence advisors: India has declared all Defence, Military, Naval, and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as *persona non grata*. They have a week to leave the country.

4. Withdrawal of Indian advisors from Islamabad: India has also withdrawn its own Defence, Navy, and Air advisors from its High Commission in Islamabad, effectively nullifying those positions.

The decisions come amid growing domestic outrage over the attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where gunmen opened fire on tourists, killing 28 and injuring several others.

New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives, and announced a temporary suspension of its protests against the recent amendments to the Waqf Act.

The attack, which took place at a prominent tourist destination in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday, left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead and several others injured.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the AIMPLB expressed solidarity with the families of the victims and declared a three-day pause in its ongoing protest programmes, starting April 23.

SQR Ilyas, national convener of the Majlis-e-Amal for the Protection of Waqf under the AIMPLB, called the Pahalgam attack “deeply tragic and strongly condemnable”.

He said the decision to halt the protest was taken as a mark of mourning and support for the bereaved families. A circular has been issued to all state and district conveners of the campaign, directing an immediate halt to all protest-related activities during the period of mourning.

Ilyas clarified that the campaign against the “controversial amendments” to the Waqf Act will resume after the three-day suspension.

People take part in a protest march against demolition of a Jain temple at Vile Parle area, in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday transferred an assistant municipal commissioner after the demolition of a Jain temple in Vile Parle area of the city sparked a controversy.

Members of the Jain community took out a protest march over the issue earlier in the day.

Navnath Ghadge, who was in charge of the K-east ward, has been transferred with immediate effect, municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani told PTI.

A team of K-east ward on April 16 demolished a Jain temple or ‘chaitalaya’ located inside Neminath Cooperative Housing Society, claiming it to be an unauthorised structure.

A protest march was taken to the ward office on Saturday. Paresh Shah of the Maharashtra Gaushala Sangh claimed that more 20,000 people including religious leaders and Maharashtra minister Mangal Prasad Lodha, local BJP MLA Parag Alavani and a few other political leaders participated in the march.

A delegation of protesters submitted a memorandum of demands and had a two-hour-long meeting with Ghadge, he said.

“The entire Jain community is anguished by the BMC’s action,” said Shah, demanding that the civic body suspend the officer. The temple was demolished without giving the trustees time to respond, he claimed.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and city MLA Aaditya Thackeray said the BMC was being fully and directly controlled by the Chief Minister’s Office and Urban Development Minister’s office, suggesting that they were to blame for the incident.

The Urban Development department is headed by deputy CM Eknath Shinde who heads the rival Shiv Sena.

“Who was guardian minister (Lodha) protesting against? What he is doing is drama instead of saving the Derasar (temple) using his powers as guardian minister!

“He has an illegal office in the BMC itself, and has a huge experience of real estate and such cases. Instead of protecting the Derasar, now he is doing the drama of a protest. I hope everyone realises – the BJP belongs to nobody. It is the BJP govt that is running the BMC through the CM’s office,” Thackeray alleged.

MP and Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad, who participated in the protest march, claimed BMC officials demolished the temple without waiting for the court’s ruling.

The idols of Jain Tirthankars and religious texts were also “insulted” during the action, she alleged, blaming the “bulldozer government of the BJP alliance” responsible for the “conspiracy.”

She spoke to commissioner Gagrani who assured that a new temple will be built at the same place, she said.

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar accused the BJP government of “targeting the minorities”. “It is wrong to demolish a structure without giving a proper notice. Action should be taken against the officials involved in this, ” he said.