Locals Line Up For Selfies At Exposed River Route As India Blocks Chenab Flow
Last Updated:
India's action, which includes closing the gates of the Baglihar Dam in Jammu and Kashmir, has drastically reduced the Chenab's downstream flow.
In an escalation of regional tensions following the Pahalgam massacre, India has unilaterally suspended the 65-year-old Indus Water Treaty and halted the flow of River Chenab into Pakistan. The move, described by authorities as a strategic and security-oriented decision, has already begun to show visible effects on the ground.
India's action, which includes closing the gates of the Baglihar Dam in Jammu and Kashmir, has drastically reduced the Chenab's downstream flow. News18's ground team, reporting from the riverbed in Ramban district, found that areas once submerged under the Chenab's powerful current have dried up. Stones once hidden beneath swift waters now lie exposed, with locals flocking to the riverbanks to capture the unusual sight on their phones.
This place was once dangerous to approach, with the administration regularly warning people to stay away due to strong currents. Today, people are walking across what used to be the river's midstream, reported News18 correspondent Bilal Bali.
The Chenab River is vital for Pakistan, serving as a critical source of irrigation and drinking water for lakhs. The treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, granted Pakistan control over the Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus rivers, while India retained rights over the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. While the treaty permitted India to build hydroelectric projects on western rivers, it prohibited altering their flow in ways that would disrupt Pakistan's usage.
However, citing growing cross-border terrorism and the recent violence in Pahalgam, India has now declared that the treaty no longer aligns with its national interest. 'Water is both a strategic resource and a security asset," an official said, framing the suspension as a sovereign right in light of Pakistan's alleged inaction on terrorism.
The Pakistani government has responded with alarm. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar issued a stern warning in Parliament, calling the move 'an act of war." 'India is threatening the lives of 240 million Pakistanis. This is not just a political issue – it's about our survival," he said, vowing a firm response.
Dar also confirmed he had contacted counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, and Turkey to raise the issue at the international level.
On the ground in Ramban, signs of change are stark. What was once a roaring river has slowed to a trickle in many parts. The sudden drop in water levels is expected to further exacerbate diplomatic tensions and may have significant ecological consequences in both countries.
First Published:
May 05, 2025, 13:21 IST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Centre gives nod for weapons that outgun Pakistan's arsenal
Even as national security planners and military chiefs celebrated one month of Operation Sindoor on Saturday evening, HT learns that the defence ministry has given the green signal to the three services to replenish inventory with longer-range loitering ammunition, artillery shells, kamikaze drones and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles that out-range the Chinese missiles used by Pakistan during the four day high intensity skirmish. According to people familiar with the matter and on the basis of action taken reports and damage assessment undertaken by the three services, there is digital evidence to conclude that the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters, surface-to-air missile batteries and S-400 air defence system downed four Pakistani Chinese-made fighter jets and two big aircraft (possibly one C-130 J and one SAAB 2000 airborne early warning system) during Operation Sindoor. There are also indications, the people added, that two F-16 fighter aircraft may have been partly damaged during the IAF's missile assault on 11 airbases, including those at Sargodha, Rafiqui, Jacobabad and Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi). The reports indicate that India's Rafale fighters, S-400 missile systems and M777 howitzers acquitted themselves well during the four-day conflict with the Russian air defence system taking three enemy aircraft. They also show that India destroyed one Chinese LY-80 fire radar, two AN TPQ-43 US-made automatic tracking radar and one fire unit of Chinese HQ-9 radar at Chaklala during the retaliatory strike on May 10. Intelligence inputs now suggest that Pakistan has four HQ-9 (the Chinese equivalent of the Russian S-300 air defence radars) instead of two originally estimated by national security planners. The Pakistani military used the Chinese version of PL -15 air to air missile which has a range of 180 are also inputs that the Pakistanis, by mixing two fire units of 250-km range HQ 9 air defence system with two other 150-km range systems at Chaklala and Malir cantonment near Karachi, respectively, may have tried to catch the Indian Air Force by surprise. The Action Taken Reports also show that IAF fired 19 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles on Pakistan air bases and almost an equal number of French SCALP subsonic cruise missiles. The Pakistanis, in turn, fired CM-400 AKG air-launched supersonic missiles at Indian air bases using Chinese JF-17 fighters but these failed to do any damage. The Turkish built YIHA loitering ammunition that Pakistanis fired in large numbers were either jammed by the Indian electronic warfare suite, missed their targets, or were taken down by India's robust air defence system. Even the FATAH-1 rockets fired by Pakistan were either off the mark or were intercepted by the Indian air defence systems. HT learns that there is now adequate evidence that India's first counter-terror strike on May 7 was a success as Markaz-e-Taiba (the LeT headquarters at Muridke) was hit by four to five Crystal Maze missiles, which show a small entry point but damage the facility within. The Jaish-e-Mohammed facility at Markaz-e-Subhan Allah was hit by 6 SCALP missiles launched from Rafale fighters and totally destroyed the terror factory through pin-pointed strike using bunker busting techniques. The US-made Excalibur ammunition used by M-777 howitzers of the Indian Army destroyed the tier 2 defences of the Pakistan Army across the LoC as did India's Polish-made loitering extended range ammunition. The Indian Air Force and Indian Navy used Israeli loitering ammunition to destroy terror camps in Occupied Kashmir on May 7. Between the launch of the operation in the early hours of May 7 and the ceasefire on the evening of May 10, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK and killed at least 100 terrorists, and the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. On Tuesday, it emerged that India's targeting of locations within Pakistan during the May 7-10 clash was more extensive than was previously known, with a Pakistani document acknowledging that Indian drones had struck locations ranging from Peshawar in the northwest to Hyderabad in the south. Pakistan's Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos, which was mounted in response to Operation Sindoor, 'folded in eight hours' on May 10 belying Islamabad's ambitious target of bringing India to its knees in 48 hours, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said on Tuesday. The action taken reports as well as the immediate emphasis on replenishment suggest that the Indian forces are aware, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said, that Operation Sindoor isn't over.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
As Pakistan fails to get into ‘expected' UNSC panels, India in talks with friends
India is working with its partners and friends on the UN Security Council to blunt Pakistan's moves, as Islamabad has been appointed to key counter-terror committees at the UNSC. Sources in New York told The Indian Express that Pakistan demanded to be the chair of the 1267 Sanctions Committee; 1540 (Non-Proliferation) Sanctions Committee; 1988 (Taliban) Committee and Chair of the 1373 Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC). Sources said the allocation of positions 'should have been undertaken by January 2025'. It is learnt that a 'lack of consensus and unreasonable demands' by Pakistan prevented a consensus being formed till June 2025. 'The Council members were not happy with this … attitude depicted by the Pakistan,' a source said. Pakistan had to be satisfied with 'only one full Chairship' — Chair of the 1988 (Taliban) Sanctions Committee [Russia and Guyana are the Vice-Chairs], sources said . The other positions are Vice-Chair of the 1373 CTC [along with France and Russia]; Sanctions Informal Working Group (IWG) [Co-Chair with Greece] and Documentation IWG [Co-chair with Denmark.] 'The… positions allocated to Pakistan is far below its… aspirations,' the source said. India also chaired the same 1988 (Taliban) Sanctions Committee during its UNSC 2021-22 term along with the Chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee. Sources said the position of Vice-Chair of 1373 CTC which Pakistan was allocated is 'not something very substantive'. 'It is… more ceremonial in nature. Pakistan… has not been able to get its way. India was the Chair of the 1373 CTC in 2022. India had earlier also, during its 2011-12 UNSC term, chaired the 1373 CTC.' For the first time in the history of the UNSC, an IWG will have two co-Chairs. This can be interpreted as a move by the Council to rein in Pakistan. Despite the Pakistani delegation's visit to the UN, the result is not something Pakistan will be happy with. This reflects Pakistan's standing and credibility in the UN, sources said. Sources said all the major terrorist attacks and networks have their origins in Pakistan. Some examples are: Sources said Pakistan's role as a state sponsor of terrorism is well known. 'Out of around 254 individuals and 89 entities designated in the 1267 Sanctions Committee (Al-Qaeda and ISIL), Pakistan has the unrivalled distinction of over 50 individuals and entities linked to it designated in the 1267 Sanctions Committee… it is Pakistan which is at unease… that more of its nationals and entities will be added to the Sanctions Committees/Regimes.' The source said India will be working 'closely with friends' in the Council. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism '2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury's special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban's capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
India Gazette
4 hours ago
- India Gazette
"An invading army at border will not be stopped by eloquence; It will be stopped by military force" MJ Akbar in Germany
Berlin [Germany], June 8 (ANI): Former Union Minister MJ Akbar, who is part of the all-party delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, highlighted India's firm stand against terrorism, saying, 'An invading army at the border will not be stopped by eloquence. It will be stopped by military force'. Akbar is currently in Berlin as part of India's diplomatic outreach to explain the country's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. Adressing the Indian diaspora in Germany, Akbar emphasised the unity and power of the nation that has enabled it to defeat terrorism not just within its borders but globally. 'That is the unity, that is the power today, which has defeated the terrorist state of Pakistan not only in Kashmir, not only in Punjab, not only in Rajasthan, but in every frontier across the world. We are ending our mission, this phase of our mission, your mission is only beginning. Please remember that,' Akbar stated. Akbar also praised India's economic growth, citing the World Bank's report, which shows that the number of people living in extreme poverty in India has dropped below 5 per cent. 'We have not only become the fourth largest economy in the world, but last night the World Bank released that those living in hardship poverty in India are less than 5 per cent now. That is the economic growth we want,' he said. Addressing the issue of terrorism, Akbar stressed that military force is necessary to counter invading armies and terrorists. 'An invading army at the border will not be stopped by eloquence. It will be stopped by military force,' he said. 'And that military force has been exhibited and evident to the world since the first attack of October 5 1947. Since then, when 5,000 terrorists came. Till today, thousands of terrorists are coming till today they are being defeated,' he added. Akbar also warned about the global threat of terrorism in the name of religion. 'There will come a time in this century when the world will realise that the challenge before the world is the challenge of terrorism in the name of religion,' he stated. 'Humanity and peace are really what religion teaches, not faith. And a state which encourages or which feeds, breeds and perpetrates violence of the most barbaric and brutal kind in the name of religion doesn't belong to this century,' he added. Meanwhile, BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya said while addressing the Indian diaspora, 'We want Akhand Bharat. PoK was ours. If not today, then tomorrow it will come back to us.' At the start of the community event, the Indian diaspora observed a two-minute silence to pay tributes to people who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The delegation is currently in Berlin. During their visit, the delegation met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and several members of the German Parliament (Bundestag). The delegation, led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari, MJ Akbar, Gulam Ali Khatana, and Samik Bhattacharya; Congress MP Amar Singh, Priyanka Chaturvedi from Shiv Sena (UBT), AIADMK MP M Thambidurai and former diplomat Pankaj Saran. The delegation arrived in Germany after concluding their visit to Belgium. Earlier, Ravi Shankar Prasad said they raised strong concerns about terrorism during their visit to Brussels and generals of Pakistan 'run that country with the help of a military terrorist coalition', which is a 'threat' to democracy and humanity. The Indian Armed Forces carried out targeted strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists. India repelled subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases. (ANI)
