India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad, and the water flowing to Pakistan will be diverted for internal use, Home Minister Amit Shah said in an interview with Times of India on Saturday.
India put into "abeyance" its participation in the 1960 treaty, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, after 26 civilians in Kashmir were killed. The treaty had guaranteed water access for 80 per cent of Pakistan's farms through three rivers originating in India.
The accord remains dormant despite a ceasefire agreed upon by the two countries last month.
"No, it will never be restored," Shah told the daily.
"We will take water that was flowing to Pakistan to Rajasthan by constructing a canal. Pakistan will be starved of water that it has been getting unjustifiably," Shah said.
The latest comments from Shah, have dimmed Islamabad's hopes for negotiations on the treaty in the near term.
Islamabad is also exploring a legal challenge to India's decision to hold the treaty in abeyance under international law.