External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar launched a sharp attack on the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, accusing it of being “uncomfortable with history” while defending the government’s move to put the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaking during a discussion in Parliament, Jaishankar called the IWT a “unique agreement” where India allowed its major rivers to flow into Pakistan without securing reciprocal rights, a decision he claimed stemmed from historical misjudgments by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
“The Indus Water Treaty is a very unique agreement. I cannot think of any other example in the world where a country has allowed its major rivers to flow into another without having rights over them,” Jaishankar said, while adding, “Yesterday I heard some people are uncomfortable with history. Maybe it doesn’t suit them; they only like to recall some parts.”
Citing Nehru’s 1960 remarks in Parliament, Jaishankar noted that the former PM prioritized Pakistan’s needs while neglecting Indian farmers.
“On November 30, 1960, Jawaharlal Nehru said he was doing this for Pakistani Punjab. Not a word about the farmers of Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, or Gujarat,” he said.
Jaishankar asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken corrective steps that previous governments claimed were impossible.
“For 60 years we were told Nehru’s mistakes couldn’t be corrected. But the Modi government has shown that they can be corrected—Article 370 was corrected, and now the Indus Water Treaty is being re-evaluated,” he added.
He reiterated that the treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan permanently ends its support for terrorism, referencing the April terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.
“We have made it clear—blood and water will not flow together,” the minister warned.
The government’s decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty marks a significant geopolitical shift in India’s approach to Pakistan amid ongoing security concerns.
