India's Indus Treaty Suspension Leads To Water Crisis In Pakistan: Report

NDTV

3 days ago

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A Pakistan report reveals a 13.3% water shortfall from the Indus River, impacting Kharif crops in that country's Punjab province, due to India's suspension of a water-sharing treaty in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack.
New Delhi:
A Pakistan government report indicates a 13.3 per cent year-on-year shortfall in water drawn from the Indus River System - and supplied to already water-starved farms in the Punjab province - following India halting a 1960 water-sharing treaty for the Pahalgam terror attack.
The report by Pak's Indus River System Authority said 124,500 cusecs were released from the Indus basin to dams on June 5, compared to the nearly 144,000 cusecs this time last year.
The shortfall, experts said, will affect the sowing of Kharif, or monsoonal, crops. Monsoon rains could improve this supply but, at least till then, crops in Pak's Punjab province are at stake.
"In Pakistan, there is less water in rivers and reservoirs connected to the Indus River System, because of which farmers there are in a crisis. The sowing of Kharif crops is underway in Pak..." AK Bajaj, the ex-Chairman of the Central Water Commission, told NDTV.
Mr Bajaj said the particular problem facing Pak is that the monsoon only reaches Punjab province by the end of June or the first week of July. Till then, he said, the crisis could get bigger.
Media reports point to a nearly 21 per cent water shortage in Pak for the early Kharif season, which usually extends to June second week, due to India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.
The Indus Water Treaty was signed by India's Jawaharlal Nehru and Pak's Ayub Khan (File).
Pakistan must also battle a severe heatwave predicted this week; on Monday morning Karachi residents were warned of excessively hot and humid conditions for the next 24 hours at least.
The maximum temperature predicted was 37 degrees Celsius.
Heatwaves have also been predicted for Balochistan, which has recorded temperatures six degrees above normal for this time of year. The Sindh province has also been warned.
Indus River System
The Indus basin is fed mainly by the Ravi, the Jhelum, and the Indus itself, all three of which were allotted to Pak under the Indus Waters Treaty but flow through India before crossing over.
The agreement gives India rights over the eastern rivers - i.e., the Sutlej, Beas, and Chenab.
It also gives India the right to use some waters from the western rivers - those allotted to Pak - so long as its usage does not significantly affect the amount of water flowing into Pakistan.
NDTV Explains | Story Of Indus Waters Treaty, Partition, Planning, Pak Impact
By suspending the treaty as retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people were killed, Delhi has been able to control, to some extent, the western rivers and flow of water to Pakistan.
It also means, Mr Bajaj told NDTV, that Pak is at "increased risk of floods" because India does not now have to, and is not, sharing data about the water level of rivers in the Indus system.
"...in such a situation, when the water level of connected rivers increases during the monsoon, it can increase the risk of floods in Pakistan, and it may have to face disasters."
All of this has been red-flagged in Islamabad, which has now written four times, in quick succession, requesting India to reconsider its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.
The four letters were sent by Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza to India's Jal Shakti Ministry, which forwarded them to the Foreign Ministry, sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, has made it clear his government will not reconsider this decision, so long as Pakistan continues to support cross-border terrorism.