While Western audiences are glued to domestic politics or the chaotic events unfolding in Europe, it is important we pay attention to the situation between India and Pakistan. In April, a deadly terrorist attack occurred in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them Hindu tourists, in the Pahalgam village. India has implied it believes Pakistan indirectly supported the attack and subsequently suspended the Indus Waters Treaty and lobbed strikes into Pakistan, spiraling into tit-for-tat skirmishes between the two countries that lasted a few days. This open warfare ended quickly with a ceasefire.

The ceasefire is on a weak foundation due to the suspension of the IWT. The IWT ensured Pakistan would have a reliable flow of water from the Indus River (about 96% of Pakistan’s annual renewable water resources come from the Indus). Not only has India suspended the IWT, but they openly declared they will never be coming back to the treaty; India is now seeking to divert the Indus River from Pakistan altogether. In response to these declarations, Pakistan’s military chief threatened nuclear war with India. I would not call this a full empty threat: If the current trajectory continues, Pakistan will have no choice but to go to war with India to secure access to the source of the Indus River.

President Donald Trump likes to brag he “ended” the war between India and Pakistan by negotiating a ceasefire, but India has pushed back against that claim. Regardless, the problem cannot be solved by simply telling the two countries not to fight. Rather, the roots of the conflict need to be dealt with directly. India must unconditionally restore the IWT. Pakistan, however, should not be let off the hook for its complicity in allegedly sponsoring terrorism. While history has shown there is no clear answer to Pakistan’s terror problem, one thing is for certain: Putting the entire Pakistani population at risk is not a proportional, nor ethical, way to solve it.