Claim
After the cowardly act by Pakistan's terrorists in Pahalgam in April 2025, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty for the first time on 23 April 2025.
“पाकिस्तान के आतंकियों ने जो कायराना हरकत की उसके बाद भारत ने 23 अप्रैल 2025 को पहली बार संधि को स्थगित कर दिया।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The Pahalgam terror attack occurred on 22 April 2025, and on 23 April 2025 India's Cabinet Committee on Security announced the Indus Waters Treaty would be held in abeyance with immediate effect — the first such suspension by either party since the treaty was signed in 1960. The claim's date, causal link to the attack, and 'first time' characterization all match the record. Minor caveat: the government's formal wording was 'held in abeyance' rather than 'suspended', and the Permanent Court of Arbitration later ruled the treaty does not permit unilateral abeyance, but this does not make the anchor's factual statement about India's action inaccurate.
Evidence
- https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/39442/ Government of India announcement that the Cabinet Committee on Security, meeting on 23 April 2025 after the Pahalgam attack, decided the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 would be held in abeyance with immediate effect. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.eurasiareview.com/25042025-indias-strategic-recalibration-indus-waters-treaty-placed-in-abeyance-analysis/ Confirms the CCS decision of 23 April 2025 placing the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403
- https://www.npr.org/2025/07/08/g-s1-73122/pakistan-india-indus-waters-treaty Reports this is the first time either country has suspended the World Bank-negotiated treaty since it was signed in 1960. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/24/kashmir-attack-does-indias-indus-waters-treaty-freeze-threaten-pakistan Contemporaneous reporting linking the treaty freeze to the 22 April 2025 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.icwa.in/show_content.php?lang=1&level=3&ls_id=13109&lid=8004 Indian Council of World Affairs (government-affiliated) analysis of the 23 April 2025 suspension decision. ✓ reachable · archived