IWT no longer means Indus Waters Treaty — after Pahalgam, Modi made it India’s War on Terror. Here’s exactly how the water weapon works.

In this forensically detailed talk, water policy expert and author of Indus Water Story dismantles every assumption about the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty — beginning with the most misunderstood fact: it was never a 50-50 deal. India received 19.48% of the total 168 MAF basin flow; Pakistan received 80%. The speaker explains how Pakistan weaponised the treaty’s dispute mechanism over 65 years to block every Indian hydropower project through objections and cost escalations — costing J&K 5,100 MW on the Ratle project alone across six years of delays.

The real significance of placing the treaty “in abeyance” on April 23, 2025 — within 24 hours of the Pahalgam attack — is explained through three dimensions: stopping hydrological data-sharing (leaving Pakistan’s farmers unable to plan irrigation), aggressive sediment flushing that will silt up Marala Headworks (devastating the agricultural lands of Pakistan Army generals), and the psychological warfare of unpredictable 10-day flow stoppage cycles. Pakistan is now in a Trishanku state — neither receiving normal water flows nor knowing when the next flood or drought will come. IWT 1.0 is dead. The speaker argues IWT 2.0 is the only path forward, but on India’s terms — and negotiations, when they come, will take years.

About the Speaker:
Sant Kumar Sharma is a senior journalist with decades of experience across leading media organizations. Born in June 1964, he has worked with renowned outlets such as The Indian Express, The Statesman, The Times of India, Star News, and Dainik Bhaskar. Based in Jammu since May 2000, his journalism has focused extensively on issues concerning Jammu & Kashmir. He is also a Fellow of the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal.