India and Pakistan Feud Over Indus Waters: WSJ

By AMOL SHARMA in New Delhi and TOM WRIGHT in Lahore

A feud over water between India and Pakistan is threatening to derail peace talks between the two neighbors.

The countries have harmoniously shared the waters of the Indus River for decades. A 50-year-old treaty regulating access to water from the river and its tributaries has been viewed as a bright spot for India and Pakistan, which have gone to war three times since 1947.

Now, the Pakistanis complain that India is hogging water upstream, which is hurting Pakistani farmers downstream. Pakistani officials say they will soon begin formal arbitration over a proposed Indian dam. At a meeting that started Sunday, Pakistan raised objections to new Indian dam projects on the Indus River and asked for satellite monitoring of river flows.

"Water I see emerging as a very serious source of tension between Pakistan and India," said Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister, in an interview Friday. He said he has raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

A senior Indian government official denied India is violating the treaty. He blamed Pakistan's water shortage on changing weather patterns and the country's poor water management. He called the strident rhetoric from Pakistani officials a "political gimmick…designed to place yet one more agenda item in our already complex relationship." Indian officials declined comment on the record.

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Armed forces alarmed over construction of dams on River Indus: The News

By Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: Armed forces got alarmed over the construction of three dams by India on River Indus and asked the authorities concerned to look into it in detail and chalk out a modus operandi to reduce the impact of the said establishments on Pakistan’s interests. “Pakistan’s authorities concerned including the officials of General Headquarters (GHQ), (National Engineering Services of Pakistan) NESPak, Wapda, Irrigation Department of Punjab and Pakistan Commission of Indus Water would assemble in Lahore today (Saturday) to discuss the fallout impacts on Pakistan’s water and defence interests of the ongoing construction of three dams in Ladakh region on River Indus,” a senior official told The News.

“In addition, the participants would also figure in the Kishanganga hydropower project as Permanent Commission of Indus Waters has failed to resolve this issue. The participants are likely to recommend that this issue should be taken up at government level and if the dispute remains unresolved by both the governments, then neutral expert should be moved.”

The meeting, the official said, would also recommend to the government to take action against India for violating the treaty during the filling of Baglihar Dam, resultantly Pakistan experienced a massive dip in Chenab water that inflicted damage to the sowing process of wheat.

Earlier, it was proposed that the government would write a letter to the Indian government registering severe protest on the Chenab water ‘theft’, but the government of the day did not send a letter for unknown reason. The Punjab government then wrote a letter to the Centre in this regard, asking for required action for Chenab water dip. The federal government remained unmoved.

Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, Commissioner of Pakistan Commission of Indus Water, would chair this crucial meeting. The News in Feb 9 issue disclosed that India has initiated the construction of three dams on River Indus. “India is constructing large dams on River Indus, which include Nimoo Bazgo with a height of 57-metre, Dumkhar of 42 metres height and Chutak dam of 59 metres height to basically generate hydropower.

The three dams on River Indus in the Ladakh region will harness 219 megawatt (MW) of hydropower. “Yes, I have convened a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the issues including the construction of dams on Indus,” Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, said when contacted by The News.

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India constructing three dams in held Kashmir: The News

Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: India has started construction of three dams on the Indus River — the lifeline of Pakistan. The construction of these dams is part of the Indian plan to generate 2,060 MW of electricity.

According to the latest study titled ‘Mountains of Concrete: Dam Building in the Himalayas’, Pakistan is on the brink of water disaster and its availability would plunge to 800 cubic meters per capita annually by 2020 from the current 1,200 cubic meters. Just 60 years ago, 5,000 cubic meters of water was available to every Pakistani citizen.

Keeping in view the appalling water situation in the country with only two big water reservoirs — Tarbela and Mangla — the Indian move could prove disastrous for Pakistan.

India has already constructed and made the Baglihar power project operational at the Chenab River and it is also building more dams on the Chenab River such as Uri-1, Uri-2 projects. India plans to construct 10-20 more dams on the Chenab River alone. On the Jhelum River, India is already constructing the Kishanganga Hydropower project.

The construction of these dams in Ladakh region to produce 219 megawatt of electricity has already started in clear violation of the Indus Water Treaty and ignoring the fragile environment of Ladakh region to meet the demand of the Indian Army deployed at Siachen glacier.

Indus River has a total length 3,180 kilometres from Tibet and to Arabian Sea. It runs 404km in China and 395km in Ladakh.

This information has been faxed in a letter written by Arshad H Abbasi, visiting research fellow SDPI Islamabad to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani seeking timely action to foil the Indian move to strangulate Pakistan’s agriculture sector. He has also sent copies of the letter to federal ministers of water & power and environment.

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Pakistan to go to WB for water compensation from India: Pakistan Link

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will go to the World Bank (WB) to seek compensation from India for reduced water flow in the Chenab River and design defects in Baglihar Dam, Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah said on Wednesday. Shah reiterated that Pakistan had demanded water, not monetary compensation, from India for the losses incurred due to decreased water flow in the Chenab. He said both countries had exchanged data about the water flow in the Chenab River during his recent visit to India, but India had objected to the data compiled by Pakistan and asked for a visit to Marala Headworks for inspecting the water flow. The commissioner said Pakistan has authorised India to visit Marala, adding that a demand for compensation for the water losses and an assurance of honouring the Indus Water Treaty in the future has also been put up.

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‘Pakistan to move WB against India over water issue’: Pakistan Link

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will go to the World Bank (WB) to seek compensation from India for obstructing water flow in the Chenab River and design defects in Baglihar Dam, Indus Water Commissioner (IWC) Jamaat Ali Shah said on Saturday. He was talking to Indian reporters at the Indra Gandhi Airport before leaving for Pakistan. He said he had visited the Doda district in Indian-held Kashmir and found several defects in Baglihar Dam. Shah said India had taken 200,000 cusecs of Pakistani water in September ‘in utter violation of the set laws’, hurting Pakistan’s Kharif crops. The two rounds of talks had ended inconclusively, he said, adding India was sticking to its ‘traditional obduracy and inflexibility’. “Talks were held with the Indian officials at length, but I am not satisfied.”

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