NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD — India is planning to significantly increase its withdrawal of water from a major river that supplies Pakistan’s agricultural lands downstream. This move is reportedly in retaliation for a deadly April attack on tourists, which New Delhi attributes to Islamabad, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

Following the killing of 26 civilians in Indian Kashmir, which India labeled a terrorist act, Delhi suspended its participation in the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water use from the Indus river system. Despite a recent ceasefire agreement after the most intense fighting between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in years, the treaty has not been reinstated.

After the April 22 attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed officials to accelerate the planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus rivers—three key rivers mostly allocated to Pakistan under the treaty, according to six sources speaking to Reuters. One major proposal under consideration is extending the Ranbir canal on the Chenab River from its current length to 120 kilometers. This canal, which was constructed in the 19th century before the treaty’s establishment, runs from India into Pakistan’s Punjab region, a vital agricultural zone, according to two sources.

India is allowed limited water extraction from the Chenab for irrigation, but expanding the canal—an effort experts say could take years—would enable India to divert up to 150 cubic meters of water per second, compared to about 40 cubic meters now, according to four people citing official documents and discussions. These government deliberations on the canal expansion have not been publicly disclosed before. The talks began last month and continue even after the ceasefire, according to one source.

India’s water and foreign ministries, along with Prime Minister Modi’s office, did not respond to Reuters’ inquiries. NHPC, India’s leading hydropower company that operates many projects in the Indus system, also declined to comment. In a recent speech, Modi said, “water and blood cannot flow together,” although he did not directly mention the treaty. Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India will keep the treaty suspended until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ceases its support for cross-border terrorism.

Pakistan’s water and foreign ministries did not reply to requests for comment. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told lawmakers that Pakistan had formally protested India’s suspension of the treaty, deeming it illegal, and affirmed that Pakistan considers the treaty still valid. After India suspended the treaty in April, Pakistan warned that any attempt to stop or divert water meant for Pakistan would be regarded as an act of war. Approximately 80 percent of Pakistan’s agriculture depends on the Indus river system, as do nearly all of its hydropower projects serving the country’s population of around 250 million.