Pakistan cries foul over India’s bid to inaugurate Kishenganga dam

Says Saturday’s inauguration is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty

Raising serious concerns over inauguration of Kishenganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP), scheduled for Saturday, Pakistan said on Friday that without the resolution of the dispute the attempt is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

The 330-megawatt project on the Kishanganga River in Indian-occupied Kashmir’s Bandipora district is all set to be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 19.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Friday, Pakistan said despite several rounds of bilateral negotiations as well mediations under the auspices of the World Bank, India continued with the construction of the project.

“This intransigence on part of India clearly threatens the sanctity of the Treaty.”



Pakistan reiterated that as the custodian of the treaty, the World Bank must urge India to address Pakistan’s reservations on the project.

In December last year, India decided to move ahead with its controversial decision to start work on the project. Pakistan has opposed the project and the use of “water terrorism” as a tactic.

In a blatant disregard of the legitimate rights enjoyed by Pakistan under the IWT, the Central Water Commission (CWC) in India has finalised a detailed report on the project named ‘Ujh’.

The project will store around 0.65 million acre feet (MAF) of water from Ujh (a tributary of Ravi) to irrigate 30,000 hectares and produce over 200 megawatts of power.