In a bold move following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, the Indian government has announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, drawing sharp criticism from Pakistan, which termed the step as an act of “water warfare.”

Speaking on the matter, Pakistan's Power Minister Awais Leghari said on X (formerly Twitter), "India's reckless suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is an act of water warfare; a cowardly, illegal move." The minister’s post came late Wednesday night, shortly after India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) announced a series of strong countermeasures against Pakistan.

The treaty, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, is one of the longest-standing water-sharing agreements in the world and has endured multiple periods of heightened tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. It governs the sharing of waters from six rivers that flow from India into Pakistan.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, during a press briefing on Wednesday, stated that the CCS had been briefed on "the cross-border linkages" of the Pahalgam attack, suggesting Pakistani involvement. “As part of our comprehensive response, India has decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan,” he said. Misri also confirmed that the Attari-Wagah land crossing, the only overland route between the two nations, would be closed immediately.