India's position on Indus Waters Treaty unchanged, says MEA after Pak PM's 'water is our red line' remark

India's position on the Indus Waters Treaty remains unchanged, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

"Our position on the Indus Treaty is well known. There's no change in it," Jaiswal said when asked about the status of the treaty.

Jaiswal also hit back at Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide over his remarks on regional issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, during his visit to Islamabad.

Reiterating India's territorial position, Jaiswal said, "The whole of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable part of India."

A concern for international community

He also drew attention to Pakistan's human rights record and alleged support for cross-border terrorism, saying the international community should instead focus on the "atrocities" in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and its alleged use for cross-border terrorism.

"The issue that should concern the international community are the atrocities currently being perpetrated in the illegal Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the use of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for cross-border terrorism," he said.

India's response came after the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office said Sharif had accused India of "unilaterally and illegally" suspending the treaty and declared Pakistan's water a "red line".

What the Pakistan PM said on Indus

"The Prime Minister said that India has proven itself an enemy of peace by unilaterally and illegally suspending the Indus Waters Treaty. He announced that every drop of Pakistan's water is our red line. There will be no compromise on the water issue. If India does not come to the right path, we will give it a direct response," the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office said in a post on X.

The Pakistan Prime Minister's Office had earlier said Sharif had declared that "every drop of Pakistan's water is our red line" and that there would be "no compromise" on the issue of water.

India put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting on 23 April 2025, days after the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed.

What India maintained

New Delhi had said the circumstances under which the treaty was negotiated had "fundamentally changed". India has maintained that the treaty cannot function in its present form and will remain in abeyance until Pakistan "credibly and irrevocably" ends its support for cross-border terrorism.

The development came amid heightened tensions between the two countries following the Pahalgam attack. India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation, after which military hostilities continued until 10 May, when Pakistan sought a ceasefire.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in September 1960 and governs the sharing of waters of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan.