Water, the gift from nature, is vital for life and survival in nations both developed and developing around the globe. To optimize usage, many nations embark on dam building projects aimed at flood control, irrigation and hydroelectricity generation; unfortunately, India’s aggressive pursuit of dam-building threatens our peaceful coexistence and poses yet another ominous threat from a neighboring rival nation.
India and Pakistan’s longstanding water dispute began in 1948 when India cut off all canals supplying Pakistan with water, leading to temporary agreements being reached and eventually leading to the signing of the Indus Water Treaty between Ayub Khan’s regime and India in September 1960 – providing for uninterrupted ten year supply from India but Indian use maximizes access of waters from Pakistani rivers such as Indus, Chenab and Jhelum that support millions of people from both sides.
India has taken steps to build dams on rivers flowing from Kashmir into Pakistan in violation of the Indus Water Treaty and to control their flow, with disastrous effects for Pakistan’s canal systems, agricultural sector and economies as a whole, leaving vast regions barren and desolate.
India has shown their malicious intentions by strategically building dams to interrupt water supplies during key agricultural seasons and release excess rainfall during monsoon season, in an attempt to inundate their nation. The results have been disastrous: 14 hydroelectric plants on Chenab River alone have already been constructed by them and more are planned, further restricting waterflow.
Kishanganga hydroelectric project on Pakistan’s Neelum River is particularly worrisome, and once finished will reduce average Neelum water flow into Pakistan by 21%, leading to massive energy losses valued in billions of rupees as well as irreparable environmental harm.
Pakistan must adopt desalination technologies to combat an imminent crisis of fresh drinking water shortage. By harnessing seawater as an abundant resource and turning it into potable drinking water, both countries can increase water security while decreasing reliance on shared rivers. Desalination as a long-term solution may even help lead to peaceful negotiations over decades-old water disputes.
India’s dam building spree has reached alarming proportions, with plans for 93 dams estimated to cost an estimated Rs 230 billion. If implemented, these dams could lead to large agricultural lands being rendered barren and rivers running dry in Pakistan; furthermore, environmental degradation and increased sediment flow caused by this construction frenzy will have serious repercussions for Pakistan’s water resources.
Pakistan already faces the risk of an impending water crisis, with availability projected to fall from 1,200 cubic meters annually by 2020 to an expected 800 by 2020, compared with 1,200 annually today. Only 60 years ago every Pakistani had access to 5,000 cubic meters annually! Monsoon rains have already caused devastation and loss of life across Pakistan while India’s release of excess water into already flooding rivers only compounds this problem, underscoring their hostile intent towards Pakistan and emphasizing their hostile intentions further.
Pakistan has taken steps to meet these challenges, such as protesting construction of the Kishanganga project and obtaining a stay order from the Court of Arbitration in September 2011. But more proactive approaches must be taken. Reactivating World Bank arbitration process and expediting work on Neelum-Jhelum project are necessary measures for safeguarding Pakistan’s water resources.
Conclusion In summary, Pakistan must implement WAPDA’s Vision 2025 by prioritizing construction of essential storage reservoirs such as Yugo, Skardu, Basha and Kalabagh. Completion of Mohmand Dam by 2024 and Dasu Dam by 2028 will also address India’s aggressive dam-building agenda and protect Pakistani water security concerns.
Pakistan’s water security hangs in the balance as time slips away. Resolving water disputes between India and Pakistan is as critical to solving Kashmir as resolving border disputes. Building new dams quickly is necessary to counter India’s hostile actions that threaten Pakistani water reserves – now is the time for decisive action!
