War for water

Before committing cowardly aggression against Pakistan, a statement by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also emerged in the media that India will not allow even a drop of water to go outside. Although he did not name any country, every sensible person can understand that he was referring to Pakistan, which is already facing suspension from the Indus Water Treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam incident. Reportedly, India has also targeted the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project during its attacks on various places in Pakistan.

Millions of people in our region depend on the water of the Indus, Brahmaputra (Chinese name: Yarlung Zangbo), and Sutlej rivers. Geographically, these rivers originate from the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and enter Pakistan after passing through India. Regarding the flow of the rivers, China and India are upper countries, while Pakistan is located at a lower level.

Immediately after Partition, a dispute arose between Pakistan and India over river waters, which resulted in the Indus Waters Treaty, mediated by the World Bank in 1960. Under the said treaty, Pakistan got complete control over the waters of the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab), while the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) were given to India.

In recent years, after India took complete control of the waters of its own rivers, the construction of hydroelectric projects on rivers owned by Pakistan in the disputed territory of occupied Kashmir has become a matter of great concern for Pakistan.

On the other hand, China has decided to build the world’s largest dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River, which flows from Tibet. After entering India, this river takes the name Brahmaputra and finally irrigates Bangladesh’s territory. The dam will have the capacity to generate 300 billion kWh of power yearly.

China maintains that it has no intention of diverting the rivers flowing towards India. Still, due to the lack of any formal legal agreement between India and China regarding river water, India fears that China could block the river from entering Arunachal Pradesh or suddenly release huge water during the rainy season by building a mega dam in the Tibetan region.

In my view, all three regional countries — Pakistan, India and China — seem to be striving to secure water and energy for their people. Without mutual trust and regional cooperation, unilateral efforts have taken a dangerous turn, a glimpse of which we have seen in the form of recent Pakistan-India clashes.

Apparently, the Modi government is deeply afraid of China using river water as a possible weapon of war in future. Irresponsible actions such as the Indian prime minister’s abrogation of the Indus Waters Treaty and the attack on Pakistani territory indicate that India wants to increase pressure on Pakistan.

The Modi government wants China to come forward in support of Pakistan, which is, in fact, the victim of war aggression. Later on, if a peace agreement is reached after the war with the efforts of the international community, then Pakistan’s cordial ally, China, should also be bound to share water with India.

However, Prime Minister Modi should understand that using force is not a long-term solution to any problem. For centuries, the rivers flowing in our region have benefited God’s creatures without discrimination. Even today, the future of shared rivers lies not in conflict but in cooperation.

Today, keeping in mind the requirements of changing times, there is a dire need to devise a standard mechanism for the fair distribution of river water and energy, instead of rivers. Undoubtedly, every past Indo-Pak war has resulted in a peace agreement. My advice to Prime Minister Modi is to sit at the dialogue table this time before indulging the people of both countries in war.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He tweets/posts @RVankwani