Following the Kashmir terror attack, the Indus River Water Treaty has been suspended with immediate effect. This news report will detail the impact this move will have on Pakistan.
The Indus River is one of the longest rivers in Asia. The 3,610-km-long Indus River is an important river flowing through Pakistan and is the country’s national river.
The Indus River originates in the western part of Tibet near Mansarovar in the Kailash Mountains. It is at an altitude of 5,500 meters above sea level. It flows through the Himalayan mountain ranges in Ladakh of Jammu and Kashmir, enters Pakistan, and flows through the Punjab province, and empties into the Arabian Sea near Karachi. The Indus River is one of the largest rivers in the world that forms deltas before merging with the sea.
After the partition of India and Pakistan, the sharing of river water was a major controversy. In 1951, both countries applied to the World Bank for financial assistance for their respective irrigation projects, including the Indus River. After nearly nine years of negotiations, the Indus Waters Treaty was signed between the two countries on 19 September 1960.
This treaty, financed by the World Bank, is the most important agreement between India and Pakistan. It is one of the most successful river water treaties in the world to date.
According to it, India controls the eastern rivers Sutlej, Beas and Ravi. The western rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab are under the control of Pakistan. The treaty stipulates that Pakistan will use 80 percent of the Indus River water and India can use 20 percent.
The Indus River, which flows through India, is divided into tributaries such as Jhelum, Chenab, Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas, and then flows into Pakistan and merges back into the Indus River. Although India has 20 percent of the rights to it, no government in India has claimed that right till date. Only Pakistan has been using all the water.
Despite three wars between India and Pakistan in 1965, 1971, and 1999, India has not suspended this river water treaty. In 2019, India immediately retaliated militarily following the Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. Even then, it did not suspend this treaty.
But now, India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty. This is one of the major decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Modi after the Kashmir Pahalgam attack. It is estimated that India will stop the flow of 39 billion cubic meters of water annually.
This time, India has hit Pakistan in the stomach, which has already been warned to stop cross-border terrorism. The water of all these rivers is very important for Pakistan. Pakistan depends on the water of these rivers.
85 percent of Pakistan’s total food production comes from Punjab province. Moreover, almost 25 percent of the country’s treasury income comes from agriculture. Agriculture is the only source of income for 70 percent of the country’s rural population. For the past several years, groundwater shortage has been increasing in Pakistan. Big cities like Karachi depend on private water tankers.
In this situation, if water does not come from the Indus rivers, crop yields will be affected. Rice mills will be affected. There will be food shortages. There will be famine in the country. Exports will decrease. Pakistan’s cash flow will go down. It will lead to economic collapse and internal chaos.
And not only this. The Indus River and its tributaries are the backbone of Pakistan’s energy sector. More than 30 percent of the country’s electricity is generated by hydroelectric dams like Darbela and Mangala located on these rivers.
India’s cancellation of the Indus Water Treaty will severely affect Pakistan’s electricity generation. This will lead to permanent power outages of up to 16 hours a day.
India will now accelerate the desilting of all dams, including the Kishanganga dam in Jammu and Kashmir. It will also remove silt from the dams. When the sowing season begins in Pakistan, India will store water in the dams. This will also affect Pakistan during the rainy season.
In the past, when India considered suspending the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan had called it an act of war. India has started a war on Pakistan by suspending the Indus Water Treaty for Pakistan, which has made cross-border terrorism an instrument of state policy.
Geopolitical experts say it is a move to turn a bankrupt Pakistan into a desert.
