India has made its position on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), much stronger. Government sources said the 65-year-old agreement will not resume in its current form. They said any future arrangement will require major changes to the treaty. They also made it clear that Pakistan must permanently stop supporting cross-border terrorism before India considers restoring the river water-sharing provisions.

The statement comes at a time when Pakistan has repeatedly raised concerns over India's decision to keep the treaty in abeyance. According to PTI, Pakistan's political and military leaders have warned India of serious consequences if New Delhi completely stops the flow of water. Some leaders have even referred to the possibility of war and the use of nuclear weapons.

Government sources said India has no plans to revive the treaty under the existing framework. They said any future agreement would require fresh negotiations and a modified structure. Officials stressed that Pakistan's actions on terrorism would remain the deciding factor.

"It would be accurate to say that the IWT in its present form will not function again. If provisions related to river water sharing have to be reactivated, they have to be done in a different form, not in the present form. And only if Pakistan abjures terrorism," a source said.

Another source also linked the future of the treaty to Pakistan's state policy of terrorism. "We haven't seen any evidence that they are making any effort in that direction," the source told PTI.

Officials also rejected Pakistan's claims that India's decision has created water shortages across the border. They said Pakistan is trying to build a false narrative. According to the sources, Pakistan loses a large share of the water it receives due to poor storage facilities, leakages in its water system and long-running water-sharing disputes between its own provinces.

The government also clarified its stand on the possibility of withdrawing from the treaty. One source said India is not actively looking to terminate the agreement at present. At the same time, the source added that India has the sovereign right to withdraw from any treaty that works against its national interests. On whether India may eventually exit the treaty, another source said, "It depends on the actions that Pakistan takes going forward."

India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, in which 26 civilians lost their lives. Officials have said The Resistance Front (TRF) carried out the attack. They described the group as a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. India later launched Operation Sindoor in May and targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan as a response.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed on September 19, 1960, after nine years of negotiations. The World Bank helped broker the agreement. Under the treaty, India has rights over the eastern rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. Pakistan controls the western rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. The agreement also allows India to build run-of-river hydroelectric projects on the western rivers before they enter Pakistan. Projects such as Kishenganga and Ratle fall under these provisions.

Before putting the treaty in abeyance, India had already demanded changes to the agreement. Officials argued that Pakistan had shown little willingness to resolve disputes. India also insisted that both countries should follow the treaty's graded dispute resolution process. It maintained that two different dispute mechanisms should not operate at the same time.

Government sources said Pakistan first requested the appointment of a neutral expert in 2015 to examine objections to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects. They said Pakistan changed its stand in 2016 and instead approached a Court of Arbitration. During the same year, the World Bank appointed both a neutral expert and the Court of Arbitration. India accepted the neutral expert process but did not recognise the Court of Arbitration. Indian representatives attended meetings with the neutral expert but stayed away from the arbitration proceedings.

Officials also accused Pakistan of repeatedly blocking India's legitimate projects under the treaty. They said Pakistan has objected to almost every Indian project on the western rivers since the early years of the agreement. According to the sources, the objections continued regardless of the project's size, storage capacity or technical design.

The sources said Pakistan even raised objections to a small 200 KW hydropower project that aimed to supply electricity to a remote tribal area. They added that major projects such as Salal, Tulbul, Baglihar, Kishenganga, Ratle and Pakal Dul also faced similar opposition. Officials said Pakistan used the treaty as a tool to delay India's lawful developmental activities rather than ensuring compliance.

The sources also said Pakistan gradually turned the treaty's dispute resolution process into a way to delay Indian projects. They claimed Pakistan repeatedly took routine technical issues to third-party forums and extended bilateral discussions without reaching a solution. They also said Pakistan pursued proceedings before both the neutral expert and the Court of Arbitration at the same time, despite the treaty providing a graded dispute resolution framework.

Government sources further said Pakistan has not taken any credible steps to stop terrorism. "On the contrary, we continue to receive reports that proscribed individuals and entities sanctioned by the UN Security Council's 1267 sanctions committee continue to appear at public events in Pakistan, continue to be able to have platforms that they can use to propagate their messages," another source said.

The same source added that Indian agencies continue to gather evidence of terrorist activity across the Line of Control. According to the official, this shows Pakistan has not taken meaningful action to stop cross-border terrorism.

Officials said the future of the Indus Waters Treaty now depends entirely on Pakistan's conduct. They maintained that the treaty cannot return in its present form. They also said any future river water-sharing arrangement will require a revised framework and a permanent end to Pakistan's support for cross-border terrorism against India.