Pakistan, Aug. 2 -- The first instalment of this argument, The Indus Red Line, produced precisely the reaction one would expect whenever water and India-Pakistan are uttered in the same breath. Some treated any discussion of India's physical limitations as appeasement. Others dismissed Pakistan's fears because rivers cannot be switched off like household plumbing.

Both missed the point.

On April 23, 2025, India announced that the Indus Waters Treaty would be held "in abeyance with immediate effect" until Pakistan met a security condition that appears nowhere in the agreement. Pakistan immediately rejected the move, arguing that the treaty contains no provision for unilateral suspension and warning that an attempt to stop or divert its w...