On April 23, India announced it would suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a landmark water-sharing agreement with Pakistan signed in 1960. The move marked a significant escalation in South Asia’s already fraught transboundary water diplomacy.

Two weeks later, on May 6, Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s hardline stance: “Now, India’s water will flow for India’s benefit, it will be conserved for India’s benefit and it will be used for India’s progress.”