ISTANBUL 

The Indus Water Treaty "will never be restored" with Pakistan, India's Home Minister Amit Shah said.

"International treaties can’t be annulled unilaterally, but we had the right to put it in abeyance, which we have done. The treaty preamble mentions that it was for the peace and progress of the two countries, but once that has been violated, there is nothing left to protect," Shah said in an interview with the Times of India, published on Saturday.

Following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, India unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 World Bank-brokered agreement governing the use of rivers that flow between the two archrival neighbors.

India will utilize water "that rightfully belongs to India," Shah said, adding that India "will take the water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal."

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan responded to Shah's remarks by saying that the statement "reflects a brazen disregard for the sanctity of international agreements."

The treaty "is not a political arrangement but an international treaty with no provision for unilateral action," Khan said, adding that India's suspending it "constitutes a clear violation of international law, the provisions of the treaty itself, and the fundamental principles governing interstate relations."

"Pakistan remains firmly committed to the treaty and will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and entitlements under it," he said, while calling on New Delhi to "immediately rescind its unilateral and unlawful stance and restore the full and unhindered implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty."

He said Pakistan remains firmly committed to the treaty and will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and entitlements under it.

India and Pakistan saw one of the worst hostilities in May after the Pahalgam attack, where unidentified gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, at the known tourist site in Indian-administered Kashmir.​​​​​​​

New Delhi said the attack had “cross-border links,” but Islamabad denied the claims and offered a neutral probe.

It led to an exchange of blame and denials, eventually escalating to retaliatory airstrikes and drone attacks. Tensions eased after US President Donald Trump announced a May 10 ceasefire, which remains in effect.