Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, currently leading a multiparty delegation in Colombia, asserted on Thursday that India could no longer rely on goodwill alone to sustain the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. Speaking in Bogotá, Tharoor said the treaty—established in 1960 as a gesture of goodwill—had been consistently undermined by decades of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
“The Indus Waters Treaty was offered by India in a spirit of harmony, but that spirit has been betrayed time and again by Pakistan’s actions. Despite wars and terror attacks, India kept the treaty intact. But now, the government has placed it in abeyance,” Tharoor said.
He emphasized that the treaty’s suspension is a defensive response to continued provocation. “We are an upper riparian state and have been generous to Pakistan. But the time for unilateral goodwill is over,” he stated.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, governs water-sharing between India and Pakistan. Though it has survived multiple conflicts, recent tensions have reignited debate over its relevance and fairness.
Referring to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Tharoor said India’s decision to strike back under Operation Sindoor was necessary after Pakistan failed to act against the perpetrators. “There was no arrest, no prosecution. So, India struck known terror bases on May 7,” he said.
He further accused Pakistan of openly supporting terrorism, citing a terrorist’s funeral attended by Pakistani military and police officials. “This is the extent of state complicity with terrorism,” Tharoor added.
Tharoor also expressed regret over the Colombian government’s reaction to the Indian response. “We were disappointed that they offered condolences for lives lost in Pakistan following our strikes, instead of standing with the victims of terrorism in India,” he noted.
The delegation in Colombia includes MPs from across party lines, including Shambhavi Chaudhary (LJP), Sarfaraz Ahmed (JMM), G M Harish Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), and former Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
