India's approach to Pakistan hinges on de-escalation and trust, says professor
Harsh Pant, Vice President of Studies and Foreign Policy at the Observer Research Foundation, discusses India's cautious approach toward Pakistan, emphasizing that any de-escalation depends on Pakistan's actions. He highlights a persistent lack of trust between the two nations, noting that India's response has been shaped by past experiences and strategic concerns, particularly regarding the Indus Waters Treaty and broader security dynamics.
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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Officials in awe as major rivers in key region show remarkable rise: 'This is already being felt at local population level'
Water levels in Pakistan's major rivers and dams have stabilized just in time for the summer surge. The Water and Power Development Authority released new data confirming healthy water supply conditions that are crucial for irrigation and power generation during the high-demand season, Minute Mirror reported. This steady flow means relief for millions of farmers and families who depend on these waters to grow crops and keep the lights on when temperatures soar. The Indus River, which forms the backbone of Pakistan's water system, is carrying an impressive 108,400 cubic feet of water per second, with 82,000 cusecs flowing downstream, right on track with what experts expect this time of year. Other vital rivers such as the Jhelum and Chenab are also holding strong, delivering the right amounts to sustain agriculture across Punjab and beyond. Meanwhile, key reservoirs are acting as reliable water banks. Pakistan's largest, the Tarbela Dam, is holding 1.51 million acre-feet of water, while Mangla Dam follows closely with about 1.48 MAF. Together with Chashma Reservoir's 0.263 MAF, these reserves provide a vital buffer that secures both agriculture and hydropower production for the months ahead. This positive outlook comes amid ongoing challenges. On April 23, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, an agreement that allowed India and Pakistan to share water from the Indus Basin. According to Time, he declared that "India's water will be used for India's interests," sparking concern across Pakistan's already water-stressed regions. Pakistan's water system is already under intense pressure from extreme weather caused by the changing climate. Superfloods, melting glaciers, and prolonged droughts have made the timing of water flows increasingly erratic. After 2022 floods killed more than 1,700 people, over 10 million were left without access to safe drinking water. "There's been quite a lot of difficulty for local populations to have access to water on a consistent basis," Bhargabi Bharadwaj, a research associate at the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House, told Time. "This is already being felt at local population level, even scrapping this most recent escalation on the Indus Water Treaty agreement." Still, WAPDA's careful monitoring and planning offer a measure of stability in uncertain times. With rivers flowing steadily and reservoirs stocked, Pakistan enters the summer season with a critical advantage — not only for growing food and keeping the power on, but also for advancing a more sustainable future powered by hydropower. Amid rising regional tensions and environmental stress, the country's water system remains a pillar of both resilience and hope. Do you take steps to conserve water at home? All the time Usually Sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Yahoo
South Asia's Rivals Are Weaponizing Water for Geopolitical Gain
India's recent suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, alongside China's growing dominance over regional water resources and infrastructure, has heightened tensions in South Asia, one of the world's most water-stressed regions. Those geopolitical strains are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, which have altered weather patterns in an area that is home to nearly a quarter of the world's population. Most of those inhabitants depend heavily on rivers fed by the mountains of the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalayan system. Those ranges are collectively known as the world's 'Third Pole' for their vast frozen reserves of glaciers, which are second only to the Arctic and Antarctic. But their glaciers are vanishing, with downstream implications for the rivers they feed. A report released last month by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, or ICIMOD, showed that the region recorded its lowest snow persistence—the duration that snow remains on the ground—in 23 years, threatening water availability in major arteries like the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. Earlier, ICIMOD also warned that up to 80 percent of the region's glaciers could disappear by the start of the next century, affecting the long-term stability of South Asia's water systems. The findings underscore the rising climate stress on a region already facing rapid glacial retreat, erratic weather patterns and recurrent floods. South Asia is a global climate hot spot, and the region's children may be the ones who will have to pay the price. Astaggering 347 million children under the age of 18 are already exposed to high or extremely high water scarcity in South Asia, the highest number among all regions in the world, according to a UNICEF report. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. As climate change and geopolitical tensions converge, experts warn that the region's fragile hydro-politics could be entering a dangerous new era. According to a recently published study, a total of 1,158 water conflicts, including domestic and international, occurred in transboundary river basins in Asia from 1948 to 2022. Among these, the Jordan and Tigris-Euphrates/Shatt Al-Arab River basins in West Asia had the highest number of conflicts, followed by South Asia's Indus River basin. The study, which looks at water resources as a trigger for and casualty of conflict, also noted a significant upward trend across the period studied, with a positive correlation between water stress and conflict. And as the recent tensions between India and Pakistan as well as broader trends in China's hydro-politics show, water is also becoming increasingly weaponized in the context of geopolitical rivalry. On April 22, a horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir killed 26 civilians, most of them male Hindu tourists. In addition to launching military strikes in response, the Indian government announced that it will be putting the Indus Waters Treaty, or IWT, in 'abeyance,' accusing Pakistan of failing to prevent cross-border terrorist attacks originating from its territory. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that 'India's water must serve India first,' while Islamabad warned that any move to restrict water flow would be treated as 'an act of war.' Tensions de-escalated after the nuclear-armed neighbors and bitter rivals reached a mutual understanding on May 10 to halt all military actions. Yet, the IWT—one of the rare examples of cooperation between India and Pakistan, even during past periods of open hostility and war—remains suspended. In the short term, this will not drastically affect Pakistan's water supply. India lacks sufficient storage capacity on the western Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers to cut off the flow of their waters immediately. However, New Delhi is reportedly actively exploring infrastructure projects that could reduce downstream flows over time. Such projects could have profound consequences. Pakistan depends on the Indus River system for nearly 80 percent of its agriculture. It also relies on upstream data provided by India to manage floods, forecast droughts and plan irrigation cycles. Without timely information on river flows and dam releases, Pakistan's ability to generate hydropower, ensure drinking water supplies and maintain food security could be severely compromised. The suspension of the IWT has also raised alarm bells about the status of other water-sharing agreements in South Asia. India has multiple bilateral treaties, including the Mahakali Treaty and Kosi River accord with Nepal, and the Teesta water-sharing deal with Bangladesh. While these arrangements differ in scope and legal architecture, many are politically sensitive and depend on goodwill rather than enforceable international norms. Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based South Asia analyst, told World Politics Review that other neighboring states will likely see the suspension of the IWT through the prism of India's unique relationship with Pakistan. Still, he pointed to the precedent this could set as a source of at least some fear. 'If India is willing to back out of a World Bank-mediated treaty, something that's viewed as such a big success story,' he added, 'what could it then do when it comes to other treaties that are not seen through such a prestigious, high-stakes lens?' That fear looms especially large in Bangladesh, where tensions with India over water-sharing have been brewing for years. The Ganga Water Treaty, signed in 1996, is due for renewal in 2026. But relations between the two neighbors have soured since the ouster of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in 2024 amid popular protests over her increasingly authoritarian rule. Water tensions are also rising in drought-prone Afghanistan, where the Taliban-led government has revived dam and canal construction projects on key rivers like the Helmand, Amu Darya, Harirud, Kabul and Kunar. These initiatives have drawn sharp criticism from downstream neighbors like Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, which have accused Kabul of using water as a bargaining chip in other negotiations over energy, trade and security. With Afghanistan's water insecurity growing and diplomatic engagement with the Taliban regime still limited—even as climate change disrupts water resources in South and Central Asia—the risk of water disputes escalating into broader confrontations remains high, as was already seen in the 2023 border clashes between Afghanistan and Iran. Meanwhile, a far more powerful upstream player continues to shape South Asia's hydro-politics: China. Beijing has refused to join any regional water-sharing frameworks, while investing heavily in dam-building, hydropower and infrastructure projects across the region. As such, it has positioned itself as a key actor in the management of the Teesta River, which flows from India into Bangladesh and remains a source of vexation between New Delhi and Dhaka. China is also involved in several hydroelectric projects in Nepal, despite Indian opposition, as it jostles for influence in the region. Beijing, which enjoys longstanding military and economic ties with Islamabad, has also ramped up the construction of its 'flagship' Mohmand Dam in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of northwestern Pakistan, according to a report by SCMP. Though India is upstream from Pakistan on the Indus River, the river originates in Tibet, under Chinese control, sparking concerns of China using water as a geopolitical tool, something it has done in the past. For instance, after the Galwan Valley clash in 2020, China blocked the Galwan River, an Indus tributary, causing water shortages in parts of India. Beijing's most ambitious project, however, lies on the Yarlung Zangbo, known downstream in India as the Brahmaputra River. Late last year, Beijing announced plans to construct the world's largest hydroelectric dam on the river. Once operational, the dam will give China unprecedented control over water flows into northeast India and Bangladesh, triggering fears about flash floods, droughts and even strategic manipulation of river flows in times of tension. In response, India has revived its own plans to construct a mega-dam on the Siang River, a major Brahmaputra tributary in Arunachal Pradesh that also feeds the Yarlung Zangbo. While framed as a defensive measure to counteract Chinese infrastructure, the race to dam Himalayan rivers carries enormous ecological risks. The region is prone to devastating earthquakes and landslides, and major dam failures could threaten millions of lives. As the effects of climate change intensify and political tensions deepen, the failure to strengthen regional institutions and modernize treaties could push already fragile arrangements past their breaking point. Water has long been a shared lifeline in South Asia. But unless it is protected, it may also become a fuse leading to conflict. Bansari Kamdar is an India-based journalist and researcher. Prior to this, she was the Europe, Middle East and Africa editor at Reuters, and she has also written for The Boston Globe, The Diplomat and Huffington Post, among other outlets. The post South Asia's Rivals Are Weaponizing Water for Geopolitical Gain appeared first on World Politics Review.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Yahoo
Pakistan open, 'not desperate' for talks with arch-rival India, says foreign minister
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan is "ready but not desperate" for talks with arch-rival India, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, in remarks that underline the lack of a thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following their worst military conflict in decades. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery last month in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before agreeing to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on May 10. "Whenever they ask for a dialogue, at whatever level, we are ready but we are not desperate," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a news conference in Islamabad. The spark for the recent fighting between the old enemies was an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. Dar said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues including water, whereas India wanted to focus only on terrorism. "That's not on. Nobody else is more serious than us. It takes two to tango," he said, referring to comments by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the talks should only cover the issue of terrorism. The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dar's remarks. New Delhi has previously said that terrorism and dialogue cannot go hand in hand. Pakistan is keen to discuss water rights after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 attack. The treaty guarantees water for 80% of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India.
