India vs Pakistan War: How much time will it take to stop Pakistan's water under Indus Water Treaty? It is not easy for India due to...
India vs Pakistan War: How much time will it take to stop Pakistan's water under Indus Water Treaty? It is not easy for India due to...
After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam which claimed 26 lives, India has taken five major decisions to teach Pakistan a lesson. The biggest decision in the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting is to suspend the Indus Water Treaty. India has said that as long as Pakistan continues to support terrorism, India will not implement this treaty. This decision of India is being considered a big blow against Pakistan.
In fact, 90 percent of the cultivable land of Pakistan's Sindh and Punjab provinces is dependent on the water provided under the Indus Water Treaty for its water needs. In such a situation, if India stops the water of rivers like Chenab, Jhelum and Indus, then there can be an outcry in Pakistan. By stopping the water, not only will Pakistan's cultivable land be on the verge of drying up, but drinking water and power projects will also suffer a major setback. Pakistan will have to bear the brunt of economic distress due to this step of India. However, now the question is whether it is so easy to cancel the Indus Water Treaty? Can India stop the water of all three rivers overnight? How much time will it take India to stop the water of these three rivers?
What is Indus Water Treaty
India and Pakistan signed an agreement in 1960 regarding the use of water from the rivers of the Indus water system. Under this agreement, India can use the water of the three eastern rivers Sutlej, Beas and Ravi. On the other hand, Pakistan was given rights over the water of the western rivers Jhelum, Chenab and Indus. The point to note here is that in the agreement that India signed with Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty, it kept only 20 percent of the water of the entire river system with itself. In exchange for peace, India allowed Pakistan to use 80 percent of the water.
Can the water of the three rivers be stopped overnight?
The decision taken by India by suspending the Indus Water Treaty clearly means that India will no longer allow Pakistan to use the water of the western rivers i.e. Jhelum, Chenab and Indus river, but the question is, is it that easy? Actually, India currently does not have the infrastructure to stop this water from reaching Pakistan overnight. Even if India does this by building dams or storing water, there can be severe floods in states like Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
So how long will it take to stop the water?
Looking at the current situation, India has planned four projects on the three western rivers. Two of these are operational and preparations are underway for two more. India has started the Baglihar Dam and Ratle Project on Chenab, which is part of Pakistan. Pakal Dul Project has been started on Marusudar, another tributary of Chenab, and Kishanganga Project on Neelam, a tributary of Jhelum. Out of these, only Baglihar Dam and Kishanganga Project are operational. In such a situation, if India stops the water of the three rivers that are part of Pakistan, then it is likely to take a lot of time. Actually, India will have to prepare infrastructure to use millions of cusecs of water received from these three rivers. Pakistan experts are also saying the same thing. Pakistani leaders say that India cannot stop the water received under the Indus Water Treaty overnight, so they have enough time to fight a legal battle against this decision of India.
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Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Uttam Kumar Sinha, expert on Indus Water Treaty, is guest at Explained.Live
Following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India has put the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance. The 1960 agreement between the two countries governs the sharing of waters of six transboundary rivers of the Indus basin. India has also indicated that it wants to renegotiate the treaty afresh and has served a notice to Pakistan in this regard in January 2023. Pakistan is yet to respond to the notice. Being the upper riparian state, India has a greater control over the flow of water in these rivers. This has sometimes been described as India's greatest leverage against Pakistan's support to terrorism, considering that country's heavy reliance on these rivers for agriculture, electricity and economy. However, sharing of waters of transboundary rivers in general, and this treaty in particular, is an extremely complex issue, involving several layers of ramifications. To understand some of these, The Indian Express has invited Uttam Kumar Sinha for an session on Friday. A Senior Fellow at Manohar Parrikar-IDSA and Managing Editor of Strategic Analysis, Sinha is one of the most informed people on the Indus Waters Treaty, having written an authoritative book on the subject, Indus Basin Uninterrupted, a few years ago. His second book on the treaty, Trial By Water: Indus Basin and India-Pakistan Relations, is expected to be released later this month. For over five decades, the Indus Waters Treaty worked uninterrupted, surviving even wars between the two countries. However, Pakistan's continued use of terror attacks to hurt India could alter the situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has said that blood and water could not flow together, implying that India could press its advantage of being an upper riparian state in order to restrain Pakistan from supporting terrorism against India. Additionally, it has been argued that the 1960 treaty was too generous to Pakistan, effectively allocating nearly 80 per cent of the combined flow of the rivers to that country. The ground situation has changed substantially in the last 65 years, requiring the treaty to be renegotiated to account for factors like increased population, climate change, and newer technologies that allow for better utilisation of river waters. Incidentally, it is not just India that is unhappy with the treaty. Pakistan too thinks that the 1960 treaty was unfair to it, though officially it has never called for renegotiating the terms.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Indus Water Treaty suspension: Centre to revive Tulbul hydel project, says Khattar
Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said the Centre will revive the Tulbul project on the Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir as it no longer needs Pakistan's consent after the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) was put in abeyance. The minister also said India will 'definitely' work on new hydro-electric projects in the wake of the suspension of the IWT with Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. 'Before, whenever we had to undertake some work, we had to discuss that with them (Pakistan) and could not do anything without their consent. There was a project (Tulbul) under Wular Lake which was conceived in 1981 but they did not consent and it was shelved. Now, when there is no need (for consent), we will restart the project and a detailed project report (DPR) will be prepared soon,' Khattar said in Srinagar. He was addressing a press conference on the completion of 11 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre. Asked if the government would start working on new hydro-electric projects following the suspension of the IWT, he said, 'Yes, definitely. Whatever they have to do, let them do that. We have given them a response and if they do anything again, they will get a response on the same pattern.' The Tulbul project, which envisaged constructing a 439-ft-long and 40-ft-wide barrage with a storage capacity of 0.3 million-acre-feet (MAF) below the Wular Lake near Ningli in north Kashmir's Bandipora district to stabilise Jhelum's water level, was abandoned midway in 1987 after strong objections from Pakistan. In talks with Centre on resumption of projects: Omar J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said discussions were being held with the Centre on the resumption of development projects that were halted due to the Indus Water Treaty. With the treaty in abeyance, Omar said there are two projects -- one in Kashmir and the other in Jammu -- on which work can begin soon. 'After the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, we have two projects on which work can start soon, one is in Kashmir and the other is in Jammu. Now, talks are going on with the central government regarding both the projects,' Omar said when asked whether the government will take advantage of the IWT being in abeyance. The CM was talking to reporters after a meeting with Khattar at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) here. At a review meeting, Omar said it was related to centrally sponsored projects and schemes under the ministry of power and the ministry of housing and urban affairs -- both departments that he handles. 'Overall, progress in both areas has been fairly satisfactory. We also discussed areas where we have expectations from the Centre. In some places, there were minor shortcomings, and we have received suggestions on how to correct them. We will implement those,' he said. To a question on the power department facing losses, the chief minister said it is still in debt because there is a difference in the price at which the government purchases and supplies power. 'We are supplying power to everyone on a concession basis. Be it a domestic consumer or commercial consumer or industrial consumer, everyone takes power at concession rates. But it will get better gradually,' he said.
The Print
a day ago
- The Print
In talks with Centre on resumption of projects halted due to Indus Water Treaty: J-K CM
'After the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, we have two projects on which work can start soon, one is in Kashmir and the other is in Jammu. Now, talks are going on with the central government regarding both the projects,' Abdullah said here when asked whether the government will take advantage of the IWT being in abeyance. With the treaty in abeyance in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, Abdullah said there are two projects — one in Kashmir and the other in Jammu — on which work can begin soon. Srinagar, Jun 12 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said discussions are being held with the Centre on the resumption of development projects in the Union territory that were halted due to the Indus Water Treaty. The chief minister was talking to reporters after a meeting with Union Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the SKICC here. Last month, Abdullah batted for the revival of the Tulbul navigation project on Wular Lake in north Kashmir's Bandipora district. Taking to X, the chief minister wondered if work would be resumed now that India has put the IWT in abeyance. Abdullah's post, however, got mired in a controversy after his rival and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti accused him of making 'irresponsible' and 'dangerously provocative' statements. The work on the Tulbul Navigation Barrage was started in the early 1980s, but had to be abandoned under pressure from Pakistan, citing the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). At the review meeting, Abdullah said it was related to centrally sponsored projects and schemes under the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs — both departments that he handles. 'Overall, progress in both areas has been fairly satisfactory. We also discussed areas where we have expectations from the Centre. In some places, there were minor shortcomings, and we have received suggestions on how to correct them. We will implement those,' he said. To a question on the Power Department facing losses, the chief minister said it is still in debt because there is a difference in the price at which the government purchases and supplies power. 'We are supplying power to everyone on a concession basis. Be it a domestic consumer or commercial consumer or industrial consumer, everyone takes power at concession rates. But it will get better gradually,' he said. PTI SSB RHL This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
