Dulhasti transgression
There are no two opinions that India is manipulating downstream waters for geopolitical reasons. Clearly believing in transgression as a modus operandi for furthering water terrorism, it is least bothered about international law or any bilateral legal instrument. Having unilaterally held the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, Delhi is now out to construct a controversial hydroelectric project on Chenab River in IIOJK. This confirms India's relentless maneuvering to penalise Pakistan on socio-economic grounds. The inevitable surge in hydro-political tension does not bode well for India either, as it is bound to impact the ecology of the region, besides adding to the hostility between the nuclear neighbours.
The 260 megawatt Dulhasti Stage-II project, meant to further choke the lower riparian Pakistan, is yet another blow to the amicably agreed IWT. It negates the understanding that nothing ex-parte can be decided on water channels, besides undermining the principles of cooperative transboundary water governance protocol. If built, the project will go on to further jeopardise Pakistan's water security. Islamabad has already warned that any attempt to throttle its due water share will be taken as an act of war, and reciprocated accordingly. This unilateral infrastructure expansion speaks of India's hegemonic designs and must come under collective condemnation by regional states.
Ironically, the Dulhasti obsession has been made public just days after a lawful snub India received at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled that Islamabad's position regarding maximum pondage limits are rational, and Delhi's policy to construct hydroelectric projects on the western rivers are in contravention of the spirit of IWT. Declaring designs related to Rattle and Kishanganga as illegal, the dictum noted that India cannot "simply claim that it needs large storage capacity without solid justification". Given this lawful limit on India's ability to control water on the western rivers, this new pricking at Dulhasti is nothing but an engineered mode of terrorism.