There is no doubt that the barbaric terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, is a turning point. For too long, our country has responded to Pakistani-sponsored terror with predictable restraint — empty condemnations, half-hearted diplomatic protests, and a return to “normalcy” within days. But enough is enough. If Pakistan insists on bleeding India with a thousand cuts, it is time for India to squeeze Pakistan where it hurts most: its rivers. The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 has been one of the world’s most lopsided diplomatic arrangements. Even after repeated wars and unending terrorism, we have allowed Pakistan to continue enjoying an uninterrupted flow of waters from the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers. In effect, we have been gifting a hostile neighbor the very lifeline it needs to survive. It is time to shut that tap — not out of vengeance, but out of cold, strategic necessity. The recent decision to release extra water into the Jhelum River is just a hint of what we can do. A truly assertive water policy would involve us building every dam, every storage facility, every hydroelectric project that the treaty technically permits but that successive governments have delayed out of misplaced goodwill. We should work to reduce water flow into Pakistan to the absolute minimum allowed — and then some. Every drop diverted is a blow to Pakistan’s fragile economy, its dying farmlands, and its water-stressed cities. Pakistan must be made to understand that every act of terror will directly impact the taps and canals that keep its fields green. When bombs go off in Kashmir, crops should wither in Punjab. When innocents bleed in our towns, faucets should run dry in theirs. Forget the false moralism preached by international do-gooders. No country in the world would keep nourishing its sworn enemy. Water is a weapon more powerful than any missile — and it is time we wielded it unapologetically. If Pakistan cries foul, let it. The world must know: this is the price of terrorism. We must act decisively. Speed up dam projects, increase water retention, create new irrigation channels, and leave Pakistan to deal with the drought it has so richly earned. If there are consequences, so be it. A nation that refuses to live in peace deserves no favors — not even water. The era of patient suffering must end. The rivers that flow from India should carry a message loud and clear: peace or thirst — the choice is Pakistan’s.