Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], April 25 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh paid tribute to the innocent people killed in the cowardly April 22 terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

During a meeting in the State Secretariat, Chief Minister Dhami and the officers on Thursday observed two minutes of silence and mourned the loss of lives in the terror attack.

The Uttarakhand CM has also voiced strong support for the Centre's recent decisions in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, particularly the move to suspend the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan.

The decisions were made during a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to mediapersons, CM Dhami called the move 'historic and tough,'. He emphasised that India has begun implementing a bold response to terrorism under the decisive leadership of the Prime Minister.

Dhami said that these bold steps taken under the leadership of the Prime Minister not only seal India's 'zero tolerance' policy against terrorism, but it has also sent a clear message to the enemies that India is ready to give a befitting reply to every terrorist attack.

He said that by banning the Indus Water Treaty, the central government has made it clear that now blood and water cannot flow together. This decisive decision will shatter the plans of Pakistan, which shelters and promotes terrorism. Similarly, other decisions, including the closure of the Attari border check post, have also sent a strong message to Pakistan.

Additionally, the government has issued an official notification regarding the holding of the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, sources said on Friday. On Thursday, Jal Shakti Ministry Secretary Debashree Mukherjee wrote to her Pakistan counterpart Syed Ali Murtaza, conveying that the Indian government has decided that 'the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect.'

'These communications cited fundamental changes in the circumstances that have taken place since the Treaty was executed that require a reassessment of obligations under the various Articles of the Treaty read with its Annexures,' the letter said.

On the same day, a high-level meeting was conducted at the Ministry of Home Affairs amid ongoing developments concerning the terror attack near Pahalgam town in Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the terror attack, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, giving them 40 hours to return to their country, and reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides.

India also halted the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. Terrorists attacked tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on April 22, killing 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen while leaving several others injured.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960, following nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan, with the assistance of the World Bank, which is also a signatory to the treaty. The talks were initiated by Eugene Black, a former World Bank President.

Recognised as one of the most successful international treaties, it has endured frequent tensions, including conflict. It has provided a framework for irrigation and hydropower development for over half a century.

The Treaty allocates the Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan and the Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India. At the same time, the Treaty allows each country certain uses of the rivers allocated to the other. The treaty allocates 20 per cent of the water from the Indus River System to India, with the remaining 80 per cent to Pakistan.

Earlier, CM Dhami paid his tributes to those who lost their lives in the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir and affirmed that this was new India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army would take a strong action and kill those terrorists involved. (ANI)