Myth to malice

FOR 65 years, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) survived on false perceptions. These perceptions endured multiple wars, yet could not outlast the ignorance they themselves created — a veil that has separated a billion‑strong regional population from reality for more than half a century.

After the signing of the treaty, Pakistanis were told that without it India would have diverted all the Indus basin water, turning Pakistan into a desert, so the treaty ‘saved’ them. On the Indian side, the...