On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah convened a high-level meeting with Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil and senior officials to chart the course ahead following India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 with Pakistan.

The meeting resolved to immediately halt water supply to Pakistan, focusing on both short-term and long-term strategies to enforce the suspension. Discussions centered on practical steps to implement the decision, ensuring India’s interests are safeguarded amid heightened tensions.

India had formally notified Pakistan of its intent to hold the treaty in abeyance, citing Pakistan’s repeated violations, particularly its role in cross-border terrorism. In a letter to her Pakistani counterpart, Syed Ali Murtaza, India’s Water Resources Secretary Debashree Mukherjee outlined the rationale. “The principle of honoring a treaty in good faith is fundamental. However, Pakistan’s sustained cross-border terrorism targeting Jammu and Kashmir has severely undermined India’s ability to exercise its rights under the treaty,” she wrote.

The letter referenced the brutal Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists, as a key trigger for the suspension, noting that the resulting security challenges have hindered India’s full utilization of treaty provisions.

The communication also pointed to evolving circumstances, including “significant demographic changes, the urgent need for clean energy development, and other factors,” necessitating a reassessment of the treaty’s terms. To formalize the decision, the Indian government issued an official notification, marking a historic shift in its approach to the decades-old agreement.

Signed in 1960 under World Bank mediation, the Indus Waters Treaty governs the sharing of the Indus river system, vital to both nations. The system includes the Indus and its tributaries: the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) and the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab), with the Kabul river, a right-bank tributary, lying outside Indian territory.

Following Independence, the partition divided the Indus Basin, positioning India as the upper riparian and Pakistan as the lower riparian state. The treaty’s suspension reflects India’s firm stance against Pakistan’s actions, signalling a new chapter in bilateral relations as the government prioritizes national security and resource sovereignty.

In a major breakthrough, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police arrested Sanjeev Mukhiya, the alleged mastermind behind the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2024 question paper leak, in Patna on the intervening night of April 24 and 25.

Mukhiya, who had been on the run for 11 months, was nabbed in an apartment in Danapur following a meticulously planned operation by the EOU’s Special Operations Group (SOG).

EOU Additional Director General Nayyar Hasnain Khan revealed that intelligence inputs pinpointed Mukhiya’s hideout. “The SOG gathered credible information that Mukhiya, a notorious criminal with a ₹3 lakh bounty and wanted in multiple paper leak cases, was in Danapur. After verification, we coordinated with the Patna Senior Superintendent of Police and the Danapur Police Station for a joint raid,” Khan told The Hindu. The operation culminated in Mukhiya’s arrest, a significant victory in the fight against exam malpractices.

Mukhiya, also known as Sanjeev Kumar, is implicated in several cases, including EOU Police Station Case Nos. 27/2024, 16/2023, and 06/2024, and has been previously charge-sheeted in cases from 2012 and 2013. His role in the NEET-UG paper leak, which occurred before the exam on May 5, 2024, prompted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to join the probe. “Mukhiya is currently being interrogated by the EOU. We will seek five days’ custody in court before handing him over to the CBI for further questioning,” Khan added. He also announced that the EOU would recommend rewards for the raiding team to the Bihar government.

The CBI, which took over the NEET-UG case, has arrested 45 individuals and filed five chargesheets, with the latest on November 22, 2024. An arrest warrant against Mukhiya was issued on January 27, 2025. Earlier, an EOU official disclosed that Mukhiya received the leaked NEET-UG question papers and answer sheets from an unidentified ‘professor’ via his mobile.

A resident of Nagarnausa village in Nalanda, Mukhiya has been involved in paper leaks for two decades. Previously a low-grade employee, he rose to become a Panchayat head, amassing significant wealth and influence. His son, Shiv Kumar, a doctor, is imprisoned in a separate paper leak case, and his wife, Mamta Devi, unsuccessfully contested the 2020 Assembly election from Harnaut on an LJP ticket. Mukhiya’s prior arrest in 2016 for leaking a Bihar Public Service Commission constable recruitment exam paper underscores his long-standing criminal network.

In a decisive victory, BJP leader Raja Iqbal Singh was elected the new mayor of Delhi on Friday, April 25, securing 133 votes against the Congress candidate Mandeep Singh’s eight.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) opted to boycott the election, paving the way for the BJP’s return to power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after a two-year hiatus. Jai Bhagwan Yadav of the BJP was elected deputy mayor after Congress’ Ariba Khan withdrew her candidacy.

Addressing the media, Singh, a former mayor and the erstwhile Leader of the Opposition in the MCD, vowed to transform Delhi’s civic landscape. “The city has been reduced to a garbage heap. My top priority is to clean it up within three months, and residents will witness a dramatic improvement in services,” he declared.

Singh promised to scrap the recently introduced garbage user charge and expedite the formation of the MCD’s standing committee, which has been stalled for over two years, causing policy gridlock.

The MCD session began with a condolence resolution for the 26 victims of the tragic Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, reflecting the somber national mood. The mayoral election, overseen by an electoral college of 238 councillors, 10 MPs (seven Lok Sabha, three Rajya Sabha), and 14 MLAs (11 BJP, three AAP), saw one vote declared invalid.

The BJP’s triumph follows its landslide victory in the recent Delhi Assembly elections, where it clinched 48 of 70 seats, slashing AAP’s tally from 62 to 22. With the BJP also ruling at the Centre, the party’s dominance has sparked talk of a ‘triple-engine government’ in the capital.

The MCD currently has 238 councillors, with 12 seats vacant due to some councillors becoming MLAs and one an MP. The BJP’s councillor strength has risen to 117 from 104 in 2022, while AAP’s has dropped to 113 from 134. Congress holds eight seats.

Singh, speaking to a news agency on Thursday, expressed confidence in addressing Delhi’s long-standing issues. “The people have entrusted us to fix the capital. We will root out corruption and complete all stalled projects,” he said.

AAP’s Shelly Oberoi, a former mayor, and Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal, announced their boycott, accusing the BJP of manipulating the polls with its “triple-engine might.” With Singh at the helm, the BJP aims to revitalize Delhi’s infrastructure and restore public trust in civic governance.