Indus Treaty suspension dries up key Pakistan dams

Hans India

4 days ago

New Delhi: India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty as part of several punitive measures against Pakistan has hit hard the agriculture sector in the neighbouring country with farmers there staring at a bleak kharif (summer crops) sowing season owing to major dip in live storage at its two key dams - Mangla on river Jhelum and Tarbela on Indus. The two dams play a crucial role in providing water for irrigation in Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan and generating hydropower.
The situation is likely to further aggravate this month during early kharif sowing, officials said. Alarmed by the grave threat, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tried to raise concerns at an International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation to draw global attention to India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty.
"India's unilateral and illegal decision to hold in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of the Indus Basin's water, is deeply regrettable," Pakistani newspaper Dawn quoted Sharif as saying.
As per latest estimates by Pakistan's Indus River System Authority (IRSA), Pakistan is facing an overall shortage of 21% in water flow and around 50% in live storage of the two key dams. The IRSA in its statement "noted with concern" that the "sudden decrease in river Chenab inflows at Marala due to short supply by India would result in more shortage in early kharif season".
India, however, has asked Pakistan to stop blaming it for the breach of the Indus Water Treaty.
Addressing the plenary session of the first UN conference on glaciers in Tajikistan's Dushanbe on Friday, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said that Pakistan itself was violating the treaty through terrorism. "We are appalled at the attempt by Pakistan to misuse the forum and to bring in unwarranted references to issues which do not fall within the purview of the forum. We strongly condemned such an attempt," he said. Singh said it is an undeniable fact that there have been fundamental changes in circumstances since the Indus Waters Treaty was signed, which requires a reassessment of the treaty's obligations.