Violation of Indus Waters
Treaty
Pakistan being an
agricultural country is totally dependent on waters of the
Indus Basin Rivers. Agriculture is the backbone of its
economy with a share of 21 per cent in GDP. Nearly 45 per
cent of the labour force is employed in the agriculture
sector and it accounts for 80 per cent of the raw material
for agro-based industries in Pakistan. Therefore the Indus
River System undoubtedly constitutes lifeline of the
country. The PAC verdict on Kishanganga is viewed by experts
as a win-win situation for both India and Pakistan which
could usher in a new dawn for water management under the
Indus Waters Treaty.
The World Bank backed Indus
Waters Treaty between Pakistan and India has survived three
wars between the two countries, but the latter has not shown
any inclination to strictly abide by its obligations under
the Treaty.
Pakistan raised objections to
the construction of Wuller Barrage, Baghliar Dam and
Kishanganga Hydro Electric Power Project maintaining that
these projects vitiated the clauses of the Treaty.
The Permanent Indus
Commission, created under the treaty to monitor the
implementation of the provisions of the Treaty and to deal
with complaints and disputes pertaining to the
implementation of the agreement, failed to resolve these
issues and the matter had to be referred either to a
‘Neutral Expert’ or Permanent Court of Arbitration at Hague
(PAC).
The verdicts in case of
Wuller and Baghliar went against the position taken by
Pakistan. However the decision on Kishanganga, while
recognising Indian right to build the dam, did address
Pakistan’s concerns about India maintaining level of
reservoirs below the Dead Storage Level and also recognised
the concept of environmental flows in rivers to ensure that
the power generating projects are operated in an
environmentally sustainable manner.
The final Award announced on
Dec 20, 2013, specified that 9m3/s of natural flow of water
must be maintained in Kishanganga River at all times to
maintain environment downstream.
Pakistan being an
agricultural country is totally dependent on waters of the
Indus Basin Rivers. Agriculture is the backbone of its
economy with a share of 21 per cent in GDP.
Nearly 45 per cent of the
labour force is employed in the agriculture sector and it
accounts for 80 per cent of the raw material for agro-based
industries in Pakistan.
Therefore the Indus River
System undoubtedly constitutes lifeline of the country.
The PAC verdict on
Kishanganga is viewed by experts as a win-win situation for
both India and Pakistan which could usher in a new dawn for
water management under the Indus Waters Treaty.
The Kishanganga project envisages diversion of water from
Kishanganga River to a Power Plant in the River Jhelum Basin
which Pakistan felt would increase the catchment area in
contravention of the Treaty and also give India control over
the storage and release of water.
The dam is expected to be
completed in 2016. But as it turns out, the Indians are
still persisting with more than specified depth of the
spillways of the dam in complete disregard to the Treaty and
the decision of the PAC.
India is also going ahead
with the construction of 850 MW Ratle Hydropower Project in
Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan also has serious concerns about
it.
According to reliable
sources, Pakistani authorities have decided to go for
international arbitration and accordingly a case has been
prepared for the purpose.
However, it has not yet been
decided whether to present it before the Neutral Experts to
be selected through mutual consent or take it to the PAC.
The protracted talks between the two sides on these projects
have failed to produce any results.
Pakistan also has serious
reservations on the designs of other projects including
1,000 MW Pakal Dul, 120 MW Miyar and 48 MW Lower Kalnai
which India is building on River Chenab.
The negotiations on these
ventures have also reached nowhere and India remains adamant
as ever to construct these facilities as per their original
design. There is a permeating feeling among Pakistan
authorities that looking through the past record there seems
no possibility of India showing any flexibility in this
regard and Pakistan ultimately might also have to seek
international arbitration on these projects as well.
It is believed that the
construction of Kishanganga Dam in contravention of the
Treaty and the decision of the PAC, apart from adverse
impact on irrigation and energy producing schemes, would
also profoundly affect biodiversity and ecosystems in the
Neelum Valley.
The volume of water in the
part of the river on the Indian side is ten times than the
water in the river on our side. The diversion of this water
to Jhelum basin would adversely affect environment of the
valley as well.
These concerns have
repeatedly been agitated with the Indian negotiators without
any positive response.
It is pertinent to point out that under the Indus Waters
Treaty 1960, the waters of the Eastern rivers Sutlej, Beas,
and Ravi had been allocated to India and the Western rivers
Indus, Jhelum and Chenab to Pakistan except for certain uses
allowed to India including power generation without altering
the water flows.
Some sources believe that
India is contemplating to launch more hydropower projects
with a cumulative power generating capacity of 32,000 MW on
the rivers allocated to Pakistan and consequently attain the
capability of regulating the water flows to Pakistan,
especially reducing water flow in the river Chenab which
irrigates most of the land in Punjab.
According to FAO more than 3,600 treaties related to
international water resources have been drawn up among
nations sharing waters of rivers and lakes since 805 AD.
The focus of most of these
treaties was on navigational considerations. However, since
20th century the emphasis has shifted away from navigation
towards the use, development, protection and conservation of
water resources and the mechanism for sharing these common
resources.
There are 263 trans-boundary
lake and river basins in the world covering nearly half of
the land mass of the earth. While some basins are shared by
two countries, others are shared by five to eighteen nations
(River Danube).
The riparian nations either
through bilateral arrangements or through multilateral
agreements have been sharing these water resources in a
manner that safeguards the interests of all the parties to
the treaties.
The UN Resolution on Law of
Trans-boundary Aquifers and UN Convention on Law of
Non-Navigational Use of the International Water Courses also
stipulates some key guiding principles in this respect which
include equitable and reasonable utilisation of
international water courses, the application of appropriate
measures to prevent harm to other states sharing an
international water course and the principle of prior
notification of planned measures.
As is evident from the foregoing facts Indian stance and
disposition towards the Indus Waters Treaty and the PAC
verdict on Kisghanganga also constitute a willful breach of
the international conventions and guidelines on the subject.
India and Pakistan need a
peaceful atmosphere for changing the fate of the teeming
millions on both sides of the border and therefore should
focus more on removing the irritants instead of scuttling
the chances of bonhomie between the two by adopting an
unreasonable position on the sharing of water resources
between the two countries.
May, 2015
By: Malik M Ashraf
Source: Pakistan
Today