Pakistan has been using terrorism as its defined policy towards India with an intent to destabilise India. The objective is clear to destabilise India by targeting the innocent people. This was witnessed again during the gruesome Pahalgam attack. Operation Sindoor was the Indian response to avenge the carnage of the innocent Indian citizens. There is no doubt that this time India has demonstrated in an apt manner that enough is enough and Indian restraint and tolerance should not be taken as cowardice. Indian Armed Forces destroyed the terror infrastructure well inside Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir making it clear that India is not afraid of the nuclear blackmail being used by Pakistan to perpetuate the policy of cross-border terrorism to violate peace and harmony in Jammu and Kashmir. Instead of ending its policy of plausible deniability when it comes to dealing with radical religious terrorism; it escalated the conflict by targeting the civilian areas. But Indian response had been calibrated and precision oriented meant to destroy the launching pads of terrorists being used against India from the soil of Pakistan and the areas of Jammu and Kashmir that it has occupied illegally. Operation Sindoor is a paradigm shift in Indian policy as far as Pakistan is concerned. This can be termed as the declaration of the National Security Doctrine meant to checkmate Pakistan in its game of nefarious designs meant to balkanise India. taking this doctrine further ,one must say that the Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) held on 23rd April,2025 and presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to put the Indus Waters Treaty inked between India and Pakistan in 1960 in abeyance. This is a game changer. So far this treaty had withstood the conflicts between India from time to time. The reason was simple: Pakistan gave long rope to Pakistan with a hope that it will live as a responsible and peaceful neighbour. But time has proved this policy wrong. As per this treaty the rivers of the Indus waters System were divided between the two nations. Usually known as Eastern and western rivers. Pakistan has been creating impediments for India whenever there has been an initiative to use the share of waters that was allotted to India. Incidentally, Pakistan has been utilising eighty per cent and India only 20 per cent and still Pakistan misses no opportunity to obfuscate the terms of reference. India has sent two notices to Pakistan urging it that there is a need to renegotiate the treaty so that it remains relevant and effect enabling the stakeholders to use the water judicially .But Pakistan has nit responded to these notices. This has compounded the situation and just added to the conflict between the two nations. The Pakistani side has misinterpreted Article XII of the Treaty. Time has come to re-negotiate this treaty that has lost relevance and has put India in a disadvantageous position. Climatic and environmental factors must be added as there was no mention of these in the Treaty when it was negotiated in 1960.Indus Waters Treaty 2.0 is a must need. On the one hand it has to be made relevant to the present times and on the other Pakistan must internalise that blood and water cannot flow together. Lot of Water has already flown through the Indus basin and Pakistan must pay the price for making the waters bloodier.
