The government today reiterated that Operation Sindoor has carved out a "new normal" in the fight against terrorism. "There is now a new normal. The sooner Pakistan gets used to it, the better," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to Pakistan's Foreign Minister's remark on India's move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
"We have seen the statement made by the Pakistani side. That a nation which has nurtured terrorism on an industrial scale should think that it can escape the consequences is fooling itself. The terrorist infrastructure sites that India destroyed were responsible not only for the deaths of Indians but also of many other innocents around the world," he said.
India launched 'Operation Sindoor' last week, hitting nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in a span of 25 minutes. The operation was launched in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, in which 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were shot dead by terrorists. Track Live Updates here.
The operation was followed by days of military conflict between the two nuclear-powered neighbours, which also saw India's strike on Pakistan air bases, which ended after the two sides agreed on a ceasefire. The understanding, however, was brief as Pakistan breached it within hours. At present, despite the ongoing tension, the ceasefire appears to be mostly holding.
What Pak Minister Said
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, meanwhile, has sparked a row with his remarks on the ceasefire with India. Mr Dar said the potential of the ceasefire to hold would come under question if India refused to reverse its decision to suspend the IWT.
“The National Security Committee (NSC) of Pakistan declared that if this treaty (Indus Waters Treaty) is tampered with, if the water is diverted, if the water is stopped, it will be treated as an act of war," Mr Dar told CNN.
The government, in its briefing today, has maintained its stance that the "Indus Waters Treaty will be kept in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures support for cross-border terrorism".
India suspended the treaty as part of measures to downgrade diplomatic ties with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. The agreement split the Indus and its tributaries between the two countries and regulated water sharing. India was granted the use of water from three eastern rivers - Sutlej, Beas and Ravi - while Pakistan was granted most of the three western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
The rivers flow downstream from India into the Indus river basin in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first speech on Monday since the launch of Operation Sindoor, said, "Terror and talks cannot go together... Terror and trade cannot go together…. Water and blood cannot flow together."
India has also said that it will not broach any discussion with Pakistan on the Jammu and Kashmir issue except to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure and return Pak-occupied Kashmir.
