India, April 24 -- The government response to the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam is a masterstroke. By holding in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), it has placed a huge sword overPakistan's head. Some80% of Pakistan's cultivated land depends on the western rivers - Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab - allotted to Pakistan under the IWT.

At present, India lacks the infrastructure to block or divert the western waters but has the capacity tocause significant water flow disruptions that could devastate Pakistan, and Islamabad knows this.

This could wellbe one part of the Union government's response; the other half could be a military strike in the coming days or weeks. Pakistan had earlier declared that the revocation of the IWT would be "...