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Express Tribune
11 hours ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Will collaborate with provinces, boost water storage to counter India's threats: PM
Listen to article Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to securing its water rights under the Indus Waters Treaty. Speaking at a tribal jirga in Peshawar, Shehbaz vowed to combat India's water-related threats by increasing the country's water storage capacity, with a focus on collaboration across Pakistan's provinces. Sharif reiterated Pakistan's right to every drop of water in line with the Indus Water Treaty, and announced plans to store water in key projects such as the Diamer-Bhasha and Dasu dams. He also called for consultations among the provinces to devise a comprehensive strategy to mitigate India's threats to Pakistan's water security. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose in the aftermath of the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which left 26 people dead. India blamed Pakistan for the assault without providing evidence. Islamabad condemned the attack, denied New Delhi's claims and callied for an independent probe. India escalated tension by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and closing the Wagah-Attari border. In retaliation, Pakistan hinted at suspending the 1972 Simla Agreement. The confrontation them escalated on May 6–7 as India launched its attack against Pakistan, that spiralled into the gravest military clash between the neighbors in decades. Dozens were killed before diplomacy prevailed and a US-brokered ceasefire was announced. The prime minister hailed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as a vital province that has historically supported Pakistan and promised to address the concerns of its tribal leaders. He assured that any issues faced by the province would be discussed and resolved in collaboration with the provincial government, local leaders, and military officials. Sharif praised the sacrifices of the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, particularly in the 1947 referendum, and highlighted the province's continued support in times of national crisis, including the wars with India. He also referred to the collective prayers of the people during the 1965 and 1971 conflicts, which he said had played a key role in Pakistan's victory. The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan would continue to strengthen its defence and economic position, noting that the country's response to India's provocations, especially regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, would now be more strategic and collaborative. In light of escalating tensions, Sharif called for urgent measures to enhance the country's water infrastructure and ensure that the rights of Pakistan's provinces are safeguarded.
Express Tribune
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
India's war on Kashmir's eyesight
The Kashmir issue is a deep-rooted and unresolved dispute between India and Pakistan that has persisted for 78 years. Since the partition of the subcontinent, the region has endured immense turmoil and bloodshed, primarily due to India's defiance of the basic principles that guided the partition. This defiance sparked a mass uprising in Kashmir and led to three conventional wars and the Kargil conflict between the two countries. The people of Kashmir have never accepted what they see as India's illegal occupation and have consistently resisted it. In response, India has allocated a significant portion of its national budget to suppress dissent and silence opposition to its control. Its heavy-handed and often inhumane approach towards the Kashmiri population has only intensified the ongoing freedom struggle. Today, many Kashmiris continue to sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of self-determination and liberation from Indian rule. To maintain its illegal rule and suppress the aspirations of freedom-loving Kashmiris, India has deployed over one million security personnel in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). These forces have used a wide range of lethal weapons, inflicting widespread suffering on the lives, dignity, and property of the helpless Kashmiri people. Yet, live ammunition and brutal crackdowns have failed to silence the Kashmiri demand for freedom — only resulting in the martyrdom of hundreds of thousands. Despite turning the region into an open-air prison, India has been unable to break the spirit of the Kashmiri people, who remain resolute in their just and peaceful struggle for self-determination. Frustrated by its failures — politically, diplomatically, and locally — India has resorted to more sinister tactics. One such tactic has been the deployment of pellet-firing shotguns, deliberately aimed at blinding Kashmiri youth as a means of suppressing public protests against state terrorism in the occupied territory. The reality of a "pelletised" Kashmir is a heart-wrenching tragedy with no precedent in modern history or in any civilised society. Pellet guns have become a grim symbol of Indian state oppression in IIOJK, used to suppress the popular and ongoing freedom struggle of its people. It is important to note that these weapons — originally designed for hunting birds and wild animals — have never been intended for crowd control. Yet, the so-called largest democracy in the world is using them to terrorise, maim and blind peaceful and unarmed protesters in IIOJK. Kashmiris demanding freedom and protesting against the brutal occupation, torture and killing of their loved ones are met with the force of these cruel weapons. The victims include boys and girls, men and women of all ages, and even innocent children. The pellets cause severe injuries, including blindness, broken bones and permanent disabilities. Survivors and their families are left grappling with long-term trauma, psychological suffering, and economic hardship. For over eight decades, the occupying forces in IIOJK have inflicted systematic violence and have been accused of committing acts that many describe as genocide against the people of the region. Despite this, the spirit of resistance among Kashmiris endures. Among the many vicious methods used to crush the Kashmiri freedom struggle, the use of deadly pellet guns stands out. Even Israel, despite its harsh policies, has never used such weapons against Palestinians. India itself has refrained from deploying pellet guns in response to anti-state movements in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and other parts of the country. In IIOJK, however, these weapons are used extensively, with the apparent aim of incapacitating the population, especially the youth. Over the years, hundreds of young boys and girls have lost their eyesight or mobility due to pellet injuries. The Institute of Voice of Victims has collected data on dozens of such victims from various reliable sources. A few of these cases are shared here. Danish Rajab, a 24-year-old from Srinagar, suffered severe damage to his left eye, which had to be replaced with an artificial eyeball. He still carries 90 pellets in his body and can barely see shadows with his right eye. Shabkal Nazir Waseem, 25, from Bijbehara, was fired upon indiscriminately during Eid, with approximately one hundred pellets striking his upper body. Two pellets entered each eye, leaving him almost completely blind. Pellet victim Insha Mushtaq, a teenager from South Kashmir, will never forget the evening of July 11, 2016. As she peered out of her window during a protest, she was directly shot in the face. The 14-year-old was hit by nearly 100 pellets and lost her eyesight forever. Speaking to Al Jazeera, she said, 'I just peeped through the window and the policemen, who were outside, targeted me. I fell down and I don't know what happened to me after that. Everything went dark.' A young boy, Shahid Ali, was maimed when Indian forces fired volleys of iron pellets at him and his friends as they exited a mosque after prayers. Recalling the traumatic incident, he said, 'The last thing I saw was police firing bullets and pellets near the door of a mosque where I was standing. And now everything is dark. Doctors say I have lost my eyesight forever.' The youngest known pellet victim is 19-month-old Hiba Jan from a hamlet in Shopian. A pellet struck her right eye, tearing a hole through the center of her eyeball and damaging the vital part responsible for vision. Hiba's mother, Masarat Jan, cried aloud beside her husband, Nazir Ahmed, 'I wish the pellet in her eye had hit me.' 'She is just a baby, my little baby,' her father sobbed with tears in his eyes. Children continue to be maimed by the indiscriminate use of pellet guns by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. Eight-year-old Asif Rashid and 13-year-old Mir Arafat were both struck by a barrage of pellets fired by security personnel attempting to disperse protesters in Anantnag. Hundreds of pellets penetrated their bodies, from their faces to their lower abdomens. Aqib Zahoor, 16, from Pampore, was hit in the left eye by a pellet that pierced his retina, leaving him permanently blind on that side. Mohammad Asif Dar, from Baramulla, was playing cricket when he was shot in the head, shoulder, and chest with pellets. Despite multiple surgeries, he has only 10 percent vision remaining in his right eye. Four-year-old Zuhra Majeed was struck in her legs and abdomen by pellets after her family was targeted by police outside their home in Qamarwari, on the outskirts of Srinagar, on July 10. On the afternoon of September 18, 2010, Amir Kabir was standing at the gate of a government hospital in Baramulla, clutching his mother's prescription, when a sudden thud blinded him forever. Then an 18-year-old student in class 12, Amir is one of many Kashmiri youth who have completely lost their eyesight due to pellet injuries. He is considered fortunate to have survived. In 2010, the year pellet guns were first introduced, teenager Irshad Ahmad Parray and 20-year-old Mudasir Nazir lost their lives — early casualties in a tragic chapter that continues to unfold. Hamid Nazir Bhat, a 16-year-old boy from Palhalan in north Kashmir, lost his right eye due to pellet injuries. Another 16-year-old, Suhail Ahmad Bhat, was blinded in his right eye when police fired pellets during a protest. Farooq Ahmad Malla, a 22-year-old resident of Hajin town in north Kashmir, was completely blinded by pellets on March 17, 2014. Faizan Ahmed, a class 8 student, suffered pellet injuries in his eye and was also shot in the head by a bullet. Activists like Insha Mushtaq, who was blinded at age 14, have become powerful symbols of resistance, drawing global attention to the crisis. Kashmiris appeal to the world, saying, 'If they are shooting at our eyes and blinding us, then why can't you see the truth?' The rate of eye injuries caused by pellet guns has been staggering. Medical professionals warn that many Kashmiris will lose their eyesight due to shotgun injuries, as protesters are often targeted above the waist, especially in the face. In acts of brutal retaliation, pellet guns have even been used at close range, firing all pellets directly into a single protester. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, thousands of eye surgeries related to pellet injuries have been performed. Ophthalmologists at local hospitals in Srinagar describe complex surgeries to extract pellets from eyes, which often still result in permanent vision loss. Occupation forces have even barged into ambulances, assaulting injured individuals and their attendants. Hospitals have been attacked and medical staff harassed. The high number of young victims affected by these crowd control measures — particularly the targeting of young boys, women, and children — speaks volumes about the inhuman tactics employed by the occupying forces. Doctors of Government Medical College Srinagar staged a unique and silent protest inside the college, covering one eye with a bandage to represent hundreds of victims who have been blinded due to pellets during the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley. As a result of decades long Indian hegemony and use of pellet guns in IIOJK, there is an alarming level of mental health disorders. Doctors without borders have observed that 45 per cent adults in the Kashmir Valley are suffering from symptoms of mental distress, 41 per cent face depression, 26 per cent display anxiety, and 19 per cent are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). New research on pellet victims of Kashmir Valley conducted by the Government Medical College in Srinagar draws a grim picture of the mental health situation in the Valley. According to this report, at least 85 per cent of pellet victims have developed psychiatric disorders. This adds an unending cycle of restlessness, pain and misery to the people of occupied state. The current state of law in IIOJK grants officials of armed forces and security agencies impunity for even the most serious human rights violations, including the current pellet attacks and direct gunfire at the crowd. The atrocities being committed by occupation forces continue unabated due to an understandable silence of the international community and human rights organisations. This silence has encouraged India to pursue her policies of repression and oppression in IIOJK. Despite condemnation from human rights organisations and international bodies, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, who have declared the use of pellet guns a violation of the principles of proportionality and necessity under the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force, Indian occupation forces continue to deploy these weapons. Both the European Union and the United Nations have called for a ban on pellet guns, but India insists on their necessity. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has described the shotgun 'firing metal pellets' as one of the most dangerous weapons used in Kashmir and has called for an immediate halt to its use for crowd control. Balancing security concerns with human rights demands urgent action: banning pellet guns, investigating abuses, and investing in non-violent methods of conflict resolution. Addressing Kashmir's deep-rooted political grievances is essential for achieving lasting peace. The black laws currently in force in IIOJK give Indian armed forces a license to kill and maim Kashmiris using pellet guns. This comprehensive analysis underscores the urgent need for policy reform and humanitarian consideration in the region. Condemnations of pellet firings come not only from international human rights bodies such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International but also from Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders, civil society activists, human rights defenders, and conscientious voices within India. The United Nations and the international community must take a proactive role in urging India to stop using pellet guns on peaceful protesters and to abandon its imperialistic policies aimed at suppressing Kashmir's legitimate desire for freedom. Pellets are blinding and maiming Kashmiris. India should be compelled to honor United Nations resolutions calling for a permanent settlement of the long-standing Kashmir issue. Altaf Ahmed Bhat is the Chairman of the Institute of Voice of Victims All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the author
Express Tribune
20-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
China backs Pakistan in defending sovereignty
China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi attends during a trilateral meeting PHOTO:REUTER China said on Tuesday it supports Pakistan in defending "national sovereignty and territorial integrity", after a ceasefire ended four days of fighting with India over a deadly attack in held Kashmir. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China welcomed the two countries "handling differences through dialogue" as he met his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Beijing. Dar's visit comes after India and Pakistan exchanged tit-for-tat drone, missile and artillery fire following the April 22 attack in the Pahalgam area of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). New Delhi instantly blamed Islamabad for the attack in which 26 tourists were killed. Pakistan denied the charge and stated that it was ready to cooperate in an independent investigation that it proposed, might be undertaken by other countries. However, India on May 6 launched missile strikes inside Pakistan, an attack followed by drone strikes. It later also targeted some air bases in Pakistan. Pakistan on May 10 retaliated to the attacks and on the same day US President Donald Trump announced a surprise truce. This truce appears to be holding over more than a week later. Ishaq Dar on Tuesday held in-depth consultations with Wang Yi. FM Dar and the Chinese foreign minister hailed All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and ironclad friendship between Pakistan and China during the meeting, a news release said. During the meeting both the leaders expressed satisfaction at the commonality of views on all issues of mutual interest and expressed their firm resolve to continue bilateral cooperation for regional peace, development and stability. Moreover, amid the meeting both sides exchanged views on the evolving situation in South Asia, future trajectory of Pakistan-China friendship, and CPEC 2.0. China is Pakistan's largest arms supplier and Dar confirmed that Islamabad used Chinese jets against India.
Business Recorder
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
India weighs plan to slash Pakistan water supply with new Indus river project
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India is considering plans to dramatically increase the water it draws from a major river that feeds Pakistani farms downstream, as part of retaliatory action for April attack on tourists that New Delhi blames on Islamabad, according to four people familiar with the matter. Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which governs usage of the Indus river system, shortly after 26 civilians in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were killed in what India called an act of terror. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but the accord has not been revived despite the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreeing a ceasefire last week following the worst fighting between them in decades. After the April 22 attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered officials to expedite planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers, three bodies of water in the Indus system that are designated primarily for Pakistan's use, six people told Reuters. One of the key plans under discussion involves doubling to 120km the length of the Ranbir canal on the Chenab, which runs through India to Pakistan's agricultural powerhouse of Punjab, two of the people said. The canal was built in the 19th century, long before the treaty was signed. India is permitted to draw a limited amount of water from the Chenab for irrigation, but an expanded canal - which experts said could take years to construct - would allow it to divert 150 cubic meters of water per second, up from about 40 cubic meters currently, the four people said, citing official discussions and documents they had seen. Details of the Indian government's deliberations on expanding Ranbir have not previously been reported. The discussions started last month and continue even after the ceasefire, one of the people said. The Indian ministries responsible for water and foreign affairs, as well as Modi's office, did not respond to Reuters' questions. Indian hydropower giant NHPC, which operates many projects in the Indus system, also did not respond to an email seeking comment. Modi said in a fiery speech this week that 'water and blood cannot flow together,' though he didn't refer to the treaty. Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters Tuesday that India 'will keep the treaty in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism'. The water and foreign ministries of Pakistan did not respond to requests for comment. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told lawmakers this week that the government had written to India arguing that suspending the treaty was unlawful and that Islamabad regarded it as remaining in force. Islamabad said after India suspended the treaty in April that it considered 'any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan' to be an 'act of war.' About 80% of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million. Any efforts by Delhi to build dams, canals or other infrastructure that would withhold or divert significant amount of flow from the Indus system to India 'would take years to realise,' said water security expert David Michel of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. But Pakistan has had a preview of the kind of pressure it could face from India: Water at a key receiving point in Pakistan briefly fell by as much as 90% in early May after India started maintenance work on some Indus projects. Success threatened The Indus system runs through some of the world's most geopolitically tense areas, originating near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet and snaking through India's north and Pakistan's east and southeast, before emptying into the Arabian Sea. The treaty is widely seen as one of the world's most successful water-sharing accords, having survived several major wars and longstanding tensions between India and Pakistan. Islamabad has previously opposed many Indian projects in the Indus system, while Delhi said after the Occupied Kashmir attack that it had been trying to renegotiate the treaty since 2023 to account for population increases and its rising need for clean hydroenergy. IWT is lifeline of country, says JI The treaty restricts India largely to setting up low-impact hydropower projects on the three rivers allocated to Pakistan. Delhi has freedom to utilise the waters of three other rivers - the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi tributaries - as it sees fit. Alongside the plans to expand Ranbir canal, India is also considering projects that would likely reduce the flow of water into Pakistan from rivers allocated to that country, according to two government documents seen by Reuters and interviews with five people familiar with the matter. One document, an undated note prepared by a government company for officials considering irrigation plans, suggests that water from the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum 'potentially be distributed into rivers' in three northern Indian states. One of the people said the document, the details of which haven't been previously reported, was created for discussions with power ministry officials after the April 22 attack. Delhi has also created a list of hydropower projects in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir that it hopes will expand capacity to 12,000 megawatts, up from the current 3,360 MW. The list, which was created by the power ministry and seen by Reuters, was not dated. Dar underscores sanctity of Indus Waters Treaty A person familiar with the document said it was created before the Occupied Kashmir incident but is actively being discussed by government officials. The prospective projects also include dams that can store large volumes of water, in what would be a first for India in the Indus river system, according to two people familiar with the matter. India has identified at least five possible storage projects, four of which are on tributaries of the Chenab and Jhelum, according to the power ministry document. The region has been ravaged by an anti-India insurgency for decades, which Delhi has accused Islamabad of fuelling and funding. Pakistan denies the charges. International relations expert Happymon Jacob at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University said that India's new focus on the Indus Waters Treaty reflected an attempt to pressure Pakistan over Occupied Kashmir. 'With the latest conflict, Delhi may refuse to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan in any format,' he said. 'Delhi has not only progressively narrowed the scope of bilateral talks but has also curtailed the agenda, focusing only on specific issues like the IWT.' Pakistan has said that it is preparing legal action in several international forums, including the World Bank, which facilitated the treaty, as well as the Permanent Court of Arbitration or the International Court of Justice in the Hague. 'Water should not be weaponised,' Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told Reuters on Monday. 'We don't even want to consider any scenario which … does not take into account the reinstatement of this treaty.' Michel, the US-based expert, said that concern over the treaty's suspension was not limited to Islamabad. 'As geopolitical competition across the region deepens, more than a few Indian observers fear that Delhi's use of water against Islamabad risks licensing Beijing to adopt the same strategy against India,' he said.
Business Recorder
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Modi's political tenure nearing its end: Asif
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political tenure is nearing its end and that the people of India would ultimately decide his fate. Talking to the media in the Parliament House, Asif said that Pakistan had repeatedly said that there should be an investigation into the Pulwama, Pahalgam and other attacks that took place in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He said that Modi attempted to downplay the situation in his recent national address, but the issue at hand had become too complicated to resolve quickly. 'The people of India will decide the future of Modi. His days are numbered,' the minister remarked, further emphasising that the matter could not be dismissed so easily. He stressed that Pakistan's long-standing war against terrorism had not been adequately acknowledged on the international stage, adding that Pakistan had suffered immensely from this global menace. 'Pakistan had suffered immensely at the hands of terrorists. Even today, we are the victims of terrorism,' said Asif, adding that it is high time that Pakistan's sacrifices in the war on terrorism were acknowledged. Asif went on to say the truth of the matter was that India itself supported terrorism not only in Pakistan but also in Canada and the USA. 'In fact, India is a global terrorist.' Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
