Indus Waters Treaty Suspended Over Cross-Border Terrorism; Teesta River Project Addressed with Bangladesh
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 remains "in abeyance," citing the other signatory state's continued support for cross-border terrorism as the primary ground for suspension.
The suspension, announced in April 2025 following a terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir, remains in force; the MEA underscored that normalisation of the treaty framework is contingent on cessation of such support.
Separately, the government conveyed its position on the proposed Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) to Bangladesh, assuring continued engagement based on mutual understanding, benefit-sharing principles, and ongoing consultations between the two countries.
India's communication on Teesta is understood to reflect concern about the role of a Chinese state-linked company (PowerChina) in executing the project on Bangladesh's portion of the river.
Indus Waters Treaty, 1960
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed on September 19, 1960 between India and Pakistan, brokered and co-signed by the World Bank. It is one of the most enduring water-sharing agreements globally, having survived multiple wars and decades of diplomatic hostility between the two countries.
The MEA's July 2026 statement is a continuation of the post-April 2025 posture, confirming that the treaty's operational status has not changed — and linking its restoration explicitly to the other party's conduct on cross-border terrorism rather than any water-related disagreement.
Permanent Indus Commission (PIC)
The Permanent Indus Commission is a bilateral institution established under the IWT to facilitate data exchange, cooperation, and field visits between the two countries. Each country appoints one Commissioner to the PIC.
With the treaty "in abeyance," the PIC — the operational backbone of the IWT — also remains non-functional, representing a near-complete breakdown of the bilateral water-management architecture.
Teesta River Dispute: India–Bangladesh
The Teesta is a 414-km trans-boundary river originating in Sikkim, flowing through West Bengal before entering Bangladesh and eventually joining the Brahmaputra (Jamuna). Its waters are critical for agriculture in northern Bangladesh during the dry (winter) season.
India's communication to Bangladesh on the Teesta is an attempt to keep the river's management within a bilateral India–Bangladesh framework, signalling openness to cooperation while seeking to prevent the entrenchment of third-party (Chinese) infrastructure in a strategically sensitive river basin.
International Law on Transboundary Rivers
Key Details
- The UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN Watercourses Convention, 1997) codifies customary international law principles including: equitable and reasonable utilisation, no significant harm, prior notification of planned measures, and data/information exchange. India and Pakistan are not parties; Bangladesh acceded in 2014.
- Customary international law recognises the principle of "equitable utilisation" — no riparian state has an absolute right to use transboundary water in a way that substantially harms another.
- The Helsinki Rules (1966) and Berlin Rules (2004) of the International Law Association are also influential non-binding frameworks.
Both the IWT (bilateral treaty regime) and the Teesta issue (absence of a treaty) illustrate contrasting modes of managing transboundary rivers — one over-institutionalised yet frozen, the other under-institutionalised and increasingly subject to third-party geopolitical intervention.
- IWT signed: September 19, 1960, in Karachi.
- Eastern rivers to India: Ravi, Beas, Sutlej.
- Western rivers to Pakistan: Indus, Jhelum, Chenab.
- India's first notice to modify IWT: January 2023.
- IWT placed "in abeyance": April 2025 (post-Pahalgam attack).
- Last PIC meeting: 118th session, May 2022.
- Teesta 2011 proposed split: 42.5% India / 37.5% Bangladesh (blocked by West Bengal government).
- TRCMRP (PowerChina, Bangladesh): Estimated cost USD 1 billion; project approved 2019.
- UN Watercourses Convention: Adopted 1997; Bangladesh a party; India and Pakistan not parties.