Latest news with #IndusWaterTreatyof1960
India Today
15-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Weaponising Indus waters against Pakistan: A war by other means
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated October 10, 2016)In 1990, a Pakistan army brigadier listed three reasons for his country's enduring conflict with India: hatred, Kashmir and water. The hatred was visceral, he noted in his thesis at the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies in London. The second and third reasons were linked. Pakistan, he reasoned, needed to control Jammu and Kashmir not just for territory but because of the country's water that flowed through it. The officer was General Pervez December 2001, within a week of a sensational attack on Parliament carried out by Pakistan-based terrorists, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee considered options to make Pakistan pay for its perfidy. The Indian army was mobilised along the border and one of the other punitive measures studied was the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 (IWT). "Officials were called in, presentations made and scenarios drawn up, but in the end, nothing came of it. It lapsed as soon as the military deployment was called off," says one expert who was part of the Modi government has not ruled out a military response to the September 17 attack on an army camp in Uri in which 18 soldiers were killed. The IWT is also on the table but in quite an unprecedented way. On September 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a review meeting on the Indus Water Treaty at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg and water cannot flow simultaneously," Prime Minister Modi said at the meeting. The government also decided to expedite construction of the Pakul Dul dam, Sawalkot dam and Bursar dam, all located on the river Chenab in Himachal the treaty is one of a raft of options being explored by the government to pressurise Pakistan for the September 17 attack on an army camp in Uri where 18 soldiers were killed. The IWT review took place hours before foreign minister Sushma Swaraj attacked Pakistan in the UN General Assembly in New York for its complicity in cross-border was also a day before the MEA announced that PM Modi would not be going to Islamabad for the SAARC summit in November. A review of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status granted to Pakistan in 1996 is also on the cards. But it is the proposed review of the 66-year-old IWT, that is causing acute consternation within Pakistan."Between the two countries, revocation of the treaty is an act of war," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's foreign policy advisor Sartaj Aziz said in a September 26 briefing to the National Assembly. Revoking the treaty could harm India's standing at a time when it is trying to build a global consensus to isolate Pakistan over its state sponsorship of terrorism. What New Delhi seems to be contemplating, however, are ways to fully utilise its award of waters and thereby hold out a threat of reduced water flow into 1960 Indus Water Treaty split six rivers between the two countries-the 'eastern rivers' Ravi, Beas and Sutlej to India and the 'western rivers' Indus, Jhelum and Chenab to Pakistan. India is allowed to draw 3.6 million acre feet from the three western rivers flowing into Pakistan, which it has never utilised because of inadequate storage capacity."Water is the only tool of leverage India has over Pakistan," says Brahma Chellaney of the Centre for Policy Research, who authored a paper for the Vajpayee-led government on IWT options. "We are only talking of India reasserting its basic rights for the development of states like J&K, which doesn't have sovereignty over its own water resources."Water is an extremely sensitive topic in Pakistan. It is one of the reasons they have consistently objected to almost every project undertaken by India. "They are a one-river nation. If you stop the Indus, there is nothing there," says a former you try to stop the waters of Pakistan, you will escalate the conflict to a very serious level," General Musharraf said, warning of 'nuclear war' in an interview to India Today television on September is finding even the existing award of nearly 80 per cent of the Indus waters insufficient. On March 8 this year, Pakistan's upper house, the Senate, passed a resolution urging the government to review the IWT by inserting new provisions enabling Pakistan to get more water. A minor reduction in the supply of water to Pakistan could have catastrophic effects on the agriculture-dependent paranoia has caused it to repeatedly challenge even 'run of the river' dams allowed by the IWT and built by India. In the last such verdict in January 2014, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague arbitrated in India's favor on the issue of the Kishanganga hydroelectric power project near Bandipore in J&K."Our diplomatic initiative is to separate the people of Pakistan from jehadi elements. Stopping water could prove counter-productive because it will actually fan anti-India sentiment within Pakistan," says Uttam Kumar Sinha of the defence ministry-run think-tank, the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).advertisementTHE HYDROLOGICAL CHALLENGEIf the government is to make good on its promise of creating massive storage facilities to store its share of the Indus river, it will need to create roughly the equivalent of one-third of India's largest reservoir, the Indirasagar on the Narmada (9.8 lakh acre feet). This promises to be an uphill task going by the glacial pace of big dam construction in India, the huge costs involved and the displacement of people. Experts say it will be at least a decade before solutions like the completion of the three dams on Chenab bear economist Sucha Singh Gill from the Chandigarh-based Centre for Research in Rural & Industrial Development (CRRID) says the government's announcement has the makings of a 'mega misadventure' and 'grandstanding'. "India has neither the capacity to divert nor store the waters of the Indus river system. Developing capacities to regulate river flows needs years."It's one of the reasons why former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh believes the NDA's move on the IWT is deflection. "(It) is an evident and desperate attempt to draw public attention away from the Uri terror attack. What is being contemplated would be hugely detrimental to India. Barring water-scarcity during the winter harvest, it would be suicidal for India to block the natural flow of the rivers into Pakistan. Without the requisite infrastructure, we would end up flooding our own hinterland," he most doable measure in the short run is the Tulbul Navigation Project, which the government has resolved to speed up. The project, called Wullar Barrage by Pakistan, was put on hold after objections in 1987. The project aimed at increasing water levels in the Jhelum river to allow for round-the-year navigation between Anantnag, Srinagar and Baramulla. A decision to restart it was taken in 2009 but the file remained stuck at the Prime Minister's experts doubt the current measures will work. Himanshu Thakkar, convenor SANDRP (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People), Delhi, equates the government's dam-building tool with punishing Pakistan by "cutting your nose to spite your face in Kashmir, which is already bleeding away". But ex-water resources secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh says, "It's a step in the right direction but the water should be utilised for the benefit of the people and not as a political tool."Wahid Para, PDP spokesman in Srinagar, seems to sense an opportunity in Modi's implicit plan to make Pakistan pay by regulating riverine flows. Para echoes the long-standing discourse of mainstream political parties in the Valley-that "Kashmiris have suffered the worst damage in the IWT between India and Pakistan. Pakistan has always cited Kashmir as a disputed territory, yet it signed the IWT which involved rivers flowing out of the state!" Clearly, a case where Pakistan kept its own interests at heart over that of Kashmir' to India Today MagazineMust Watch
India.com
04-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
No Welcome...: Jal Shakti Minister Refuses Bouquet At Surat Event Over Pahalgam Terror Attack
Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil on Saturday refused to accept a bouquet during an event in Gujarat's Surat and said that 'no welcome till revenge,' apparently referring to the Pahalgam terror attack. During a Global Investor Conference, Patil delivered a speech, and when the organisers announced that he would be welcomed with a bouquet, the Union Minister said that he would not accept the honour. Speaking in Gujarati to the person conducting the stage, Patil said, "No welcome, till there is revenge." Surat, Gujarat: Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil refused to accept any honour at the Global Summit, stating he will not accept felicitation until India avenges the Pahalgam terror attack — IANS (@ians_india) May 3, 2025 According to ANI, organisers offered to honour him with a memento, but Patil refused to accept that as well. A person on the stage announced that the Union Minister has decided that "he will not be welcomed by a bouquet or a memento till the Pahalgam terror attack is avenged". Pahalgam Terror Attack And Its Aftermath On April 22, terrorists opened fire in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and killed 26 people. Following this, the government convened an all-party meeting, and the Opposition parties expressed their full support for any action taken against the perpetrators of the attack. In the briefing to the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out. After the attack, the government announced various measures, including suspending the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, intending to send a message to Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism. Later, the Central government gave the armed forces complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of India's response. On Saturday, New Delhi also announced a series of punitive measures against Islamabad, including banning all imports and transit of goods from the neighbouring country.
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
GRWM for war
You and I know that this is a time of national strife. India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 post the terror attack that killed 26 people at Pahalgam, Kashmir on April 22. Visas of Pakistanis living in India have been revoked, and the words 'escalating tensions' and 'security lapses' cannot seem to escape news copies. Most recently, India banned Pakistani airlines from using its air space, and more stringent action can be expected. There is an imminent threat of war. Amidst these escalating tensions (see what I did there), lies a video, of a young man waiting at a courier shop in India. 'To Hania Aamir, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. From India', he writes — his package, full of water bottles to the attractive Pakistani actress, in case she runs out as a consequence of the treaty. Tharak kam nahi honi chahiye 😂 — Ashish (@error040290) April 29, 2025 War is serious business and nationalists on both sides are upset about how we treat one another, with guns, grief and disrespect. However, if we have been able to observe anything based on the barrage of memes that have surfaced online from both sides of the Line of Control, it is this. Lay Indians and Pakistanis are unserious people. We are burnt out and helpless because of governments, armies and militants. We are hence, doing what we do best — coping with content. Why else would Pakistanis ask if they needed to bring bags to school on the day of war? Why else would they incessantly troll themselves at the hapless state of poverty in their nation or the fact that their gas supply gets cut off at 9.15pm every night? Why are there fit checks being made in anticipation of bombs? When Twitter user Man Aman Singh Chhina (with 41.9k followers) writes 'Launch missiles on Muridke, Lahore and Bahawalpur bases of Pakistani terrorists. Reduce them to ashes,' Pakistanis are amused about Muridke, part of the 'International Cities of Peace' in Sheikhupura district, Punjab, having made it to the list. There are also memes of Indians protecting Atif Aslam and giving him a sip of water as his voice is considered a treasure on both sides. As I write this, I realise that explaining memes makes them deeply unfunny, but you get the drift. There are enough sigma reel cuts of Pakistani fighter jets trying to fend off Indian missiles; and of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's eyes streaming laserjets to destroy Pakistan, that have also flooded the Internet. However, misery and nihilism from both sides of the border feel far more palpable. We'd all just rather give up and get on with our lives and not associate with wider discourse like militancy, occupation and death today because our individual lives are already hard. None of us are making enough money and this deeply visceral apathy for larger conversation would not happen unless war truly knocks on one's doorstep. Disassociation is hence the name of the game, and a conscious debunking of this meme culture proves this. Do the people from both sides of the border really truly hate each other? During India-Pakistan matches and on our respective Independence Days, this seems likely. Go to the comments section of songs from Pakistan's Coke Studio like the runaway hit 'Pasoori' and find comments like this from user @mahendrayogi8323: 'All Indians appreciating this song proving nationality doesn't matter. Talent makes it a legendary song. Love from India (sic)'. Pop culture clearly proves otherwise. Level up SIMP — A simp is typically someone who loves and showers another with attention and compliments, even if not reciprocated. Long ago, it meant 'simpleton' but gone are those days. The term first became prominent on TikTok but was part of Black culture before it became part of common parlance. Its verb form is 'simping'. Usage: Can you please stop simping over me? Are you wondering about what's happening on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and Discord? Pop it like it's hot, a fortnightly column from The Hindu, catches you up on everything pop culture. All you need to do, is tune in.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Pakistan stock market dips sharply amid escalating tensions with India
Trading in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained in the negative on Wednesday owing to the escalating tensions with India following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Shares at the PSX fell over 2,000 points in intraday trade amid uncertainty over speculation that India might launch military strikes against Pakistan. On Tuesday evening, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar added to the uncertainty by claiming that Pakistan had credible intelligence that India intends to carry out military action against it in the next 24-36 hours. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting with the top defence brass gave them 'complete operational freedom' to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange-100 index decreased by 1,717.35 points, or 1.5 per cent, to stand at 113,154.83 on Wednesday morning from the last close of 114,872.18. At 10:38 am, the index declined by 2,073.42 points, or 1.8 per cent, from the last close. Yousuf M Farooq, director of research at Chase Securities, said the decline was due to 'news of a likely attack in the next few days'. Fatima Bucha of AKD Securities said investors' concerns increased following the information minister's press briefing. 'No doubt the market is under pressure,' she said. All Karachi Tajir Ittehad Association President Atiq Mir said there was uncertainty in all business sectors due to the escalation in diplomatic and military tensions with India. 'Markets and shopping centres are not doing business as usual this week as everyone is more concerned about what will happen now,' he said. Following the April 22 terror attack, India downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the attack.
Mint
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Mint
US to speak with India, Pakistan soon amid warning of ‘military action' in next 24-36 hours
The US urged India and Pakistan on Tuesday "not to escalate" the conflict in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. The US' statement came as Pakistan warned of "military action by India" in next 24-36 hours. US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a press briefing on Tuesday (local time) that Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan 'regarding the Kashmir situation' and telling 'them not to escalate the situation.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'expects to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow," Bruce said, adding that Rubio 'is encouraging other national leaders and foreign ministers to reach out to the countries on this issue.' "So it is – again, as I've noted, every day action is being taken, in this case the Secretary speaking directly to his counterparts in India and Pakistan, and we'll – we expect certainly the impact he's usually had with the individuals he's spoken with and certainly with President Trump's leadership, India and Pakistan having those conversations. It's very important for them,' Bruce said. In a statement on Tuesday, Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said that Pakistan has 'credible intelligence that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours.' His statement came after India downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the Pahalgam terror attack.
