The construction and official inauguration of Kishanganga dam is a violation of Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)
QUETTA: India’s hardline prime minister, Narendra Modi, inaugurated the disputed 330MW Kishanganga hydropower station on May 20th 2018. Unfortunately, this hydroelectric power plant is built on the Kishanganga River which is a feeder confluent to the River Jhelum — popularly known as Neelum in Pakistan. The construction and official inauguration of this dam by India is a violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and other international bilateral treaties.
Since Modi came to power, he has escalated tensions between Pakistan and India by diverting the flow of western rivers (Indus, Chenab and Jhelum), which is also a violation of the IWT and international norms.
Therefore, being stuck in a perpetual conventional threat of war over the dam controversy, Pakistan has intelligently put forward its honest demand before the World Bank to establish a court of arbitration to settle the dispute between the two neighbours. However, the stance adopted by the WB entirely supports the Indian stance.
The WB has avoided repairing the strained relations between India and Pakistan by putting all responsibilities of reconciliation and peaceful deliberations on the shoulders of these two nations. A careful analysis of the situation raises the questions as to why the WB has chosen to close its eyes to the dangers that emanate from violating the IWT. Why is Pakistan’s genuine demand for appointing a mediator to resolve this issue, according to the IWT’s terms and conditions, falling on deaf ears?
The recently updated fact sheet reveals that India is deliberately violating the international norms and describing the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP) as a storage work for power generation only. However, Pakistan has rationally and lawfully maintained and proved its stance that Indian design of the KHEP will divert water from the Neelum River into the Bonar Madmati Nullah. The bottom line is that India is transgressing and violating Article 111 (2) of the IWT, which clearly specifies that the entire flows of the western rivers belong to Pakistan. The Article 4(6) of the IWT also safeguards the natural flow of the rivers and India is violating this article as well.
The Indian premier has repeatedly threatened to launch a water war against Pakistan. His threats cannot be brushed aside, as India has an upper hand over Indus River tributaries and can easily exploit this position and escalate the tensions over water against Pakistan.
It is therefore about time that the WB discharged its obligations under the IWT by considering Pakistan’s rational demand for arbitration.
Asad Hussain
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2018.
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