Two days after the deadliest attack in 25 years on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir, New Delhi announced the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, the closure of the only border crossing, and the expulsion of Pakistani diplomats.
The Indus Water Treaty, mediated by the World Bank, allocated the Indus River and its tributaries between the two countries and regulated water distribution. It had remained in effect even during periods of war between the two nations.
In response, Pakistan closed its airspace to all Indian airline flights and suspended business activities with New Delhi. Both countries also revoked visas for each other’s citizens.
Separatist militants are calling for independence or union with Pakistan, which controls a smaller part of Kashmir and, like India, claims the entire region.
The responsibility for the attack, which killed 26 men in a tourist area, was claimed by the Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a faction of the Pakistani Islamist group. India accuses the Pakistani government of being behind it, a claim Islamabad denies.
In Kashmir, a region with a Muslim majority, the separatist insurgency that began in 1989 against Indian rule continues. New Delhi has consistently accused Islamabad of supporting the militants, which the Pakistani authorities deny.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were already strained before the recent attack, as Pakistan had expelled the Indian ambassador and had not sent its own to New Delhi after India revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in 2019.
