India Cuts Flow of Water Through Baglihar Dam
In response to the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India has suspended water flow through key dams, signaling potential changes to the Indus Waters Treaty.
New Delhi: India has restricted the flow of water through the Baglihar dam on the Chenab River and is planning similar measures at the Kishanganga dam on the Jhelum River, a news agency report quoting sources said on Sunday. According to the report, these hydroelectric dams — Baglihar in Jammu’s Ramban and Kishanganga in north Kashmir — offer India the ability to regulate the timing of water releases.
Meanwhile, in a tit-for-tat measure, Islamabad banned Indian-flagged ships from entering its ports with immediate effect, a day after New Delhi imposed fresh punitive measures, including a ban on the import of goods and the entry of Pakistani vessels into its ports, against Islamabad amid heightened tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan's defence minister, Khawaja Asif, had warned that it will hit any structure that India builds if it is in violation of the Indus Treaty. Its envoy in Russia further upped the ante by hurling a nuclear threat at India.
In an interview with a Russian news channel, Pakistan's ambassador to Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, was quoted as stating, "We are going to respond this time and we are going to respond with the full spectrum of power. We, in Pakistan, will use a full spectrum of power, both conventional and nuclear.”
Following the massacre of tourists in the Pahalgam terror attack, India had last month announced that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 with Pakistan would be kept in abeyance.
The IWT, which was signed by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's then President Ayub Khan in 1960, stipulated that the waters of six rivers -- Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum — were to be shared between the two countries. Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and has opted for international arbitration in a couple of cases.
The Indus system of rivers comprises three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej and their tributaries — and three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab and their tributaries. As per the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan, the waters of the eastern rivers were allocated to India, which, however, is under an obligation to let the waters of the western rivers except for uses such as domestic.