India said it would immediately suspend the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan as part of measures to downgrade diplomatic ties with its neighbour after militants attacked tourists in Kashmir, killing 26 men.

Pakistan has vehemently rejected the Indian announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the National Security Committee, held in Islamabad today with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair.

The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 with the World Bank as a mediator, divides the six rivers of the Indus Basin between India and Pakistan.