India suspends water-sharing pact with Pakistan amid tensions over Kashmir

ANKARA

India suspended a decades-old water treaty with neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday, a day after unknown gunmen attacked tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

New Delhi has also declared Islamabad's defense/military, naval, and air advisors persona non grata at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi, giving them one week to leave the country.

India also closed the border crossing with Pakistan at Wagah, while New Delhi will restrict visas under the regional SAARC framework to Pakistani citizens, the government said in a statement.

At least 26 people were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire Tuesday on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia.

The decisions were made at an emergency Cabinet Security Committee meeting chaired by Modi in New Delhi.

India will withdraw its own defense/navy/air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, according to the announcement.

The posts in the respective high commissions are deemed null and void, the statement said.

Five support staff of the service advisors will also be withdrawn from both high commissions, it added.

Amid increasing tensions, Pakistan's government has convened a National Security Committee meeting on Thursday to decide how to respond to India's unilateral decisions.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif leads the committee, which includes the chiefs of the three armed services and other officials.

Indus Water Treaty

New Delhi has suspended the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), a 64-year-old water-sharing agreement between the longtime rivals.

The two longtime rivals share six rivers' water under the IWT, a water-sharing agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960.

Under the agreement, India receives the waters of the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, while Pakistan gets the waters of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers.

Pakistan accuses India of "continuously violating" the treaty by building dams on western rivers, whereas New Delhi believes Islamabad has more water than New Delhi as a result of the treaty.

Suspension of the treaty, according to some experts, will further aggravate tensions on the issue, giving New Delhi an edge to exploit water regulation.

It is the first time since the treaty was signed in 1960 that either of the parties has unilaterally suspended it.