LAHORE:
Pakistan and India need to worry less about the Kashmir issue and terrorism and more about their scarce water resources, as the latter is a much more serious issue that will touch the lives of the entire populations of both countries, said speakers at a seminar here at the Lahore University of Management Sciences on Friday.
“We need to put the Kashmir issue aside and see to water as it will affect each and every one of us,” said IA Rahman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan during the panel discussion at the seminar, titled ‘Re-imagining River Indus: Response to Water Security’. “We should set up commissions to share water resources rather than divide them.”
In his speech opening the seminar, LUMS Vice Chancellor Adil Najam said that in 60 years of conflict and (at least) three wars, Pakistan had killed fewer Indians than die of waterborne diseases in New Delhi each year, while India had killed fewer Pakistanis than die of waterborne diseases in Karachi each year.
Six undergrad students gave detailed presentations on resource-sharing problems in other countries, similar to the water-sharing issue in Pakistan and India. They were followed by a discussion by a panel that included IA Rahman, lawyer and environmental activist Rafay Alam, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and Syed Jammat Ali Shah, Pakistan commissioner of the Indus Basin Water Treaty Commission.
Alam said international concerns about the environment were in their infancy when the Indus Waters Treaty was negotiated. “Now we need to engage communities living in the basin. The water resources of both countries were abundant at the time, now they are scarce,” he said.
He said that the issue needed to be looked at scientifically and academically. “There is a need for a non-political discussion on how to best utilise water resources,” he said.
He proposed a new commission between India and Pakistan and suggested that water from the Ravi should be shared. “We need to share and cooperate rather than be divisive,” he said.
Rahman agreed that academia could help bridge the gap. He said in developed countries, think tanks came up with ideas that the government then developed and implemented.
He said that regardless of how Pakistan and India felt about each other, their geographical and historical closeness meant they had to cooperate. “We have divided the countries but we cannot divide the economies. The problem is we are not communicating information in time about water discharge,” he said.
He said that another concern in Pakistan was the reliance on tube-wells. “We have flouted British era restrictions on ground water usage by allowing [too many] tube-wells,” he said.
Syed Jamaat Ali Shah said the two sides did not trust each other. “We want to get at least drinking water from the Ravi, Sutlej and Bias. When we last tried negotiating it, India wanted water from the Chenab. It also did not discharge its Ravi water, saying Pakistan is wasteful of its resources and cannot be trusted.”
He said when Pakistan asked for early information on water discharge so it could compile flood warnings, the Indians sought water from the Chenab and Indus.
He said that Pakistan lacked water experts. “We do not have a single international water expert in Pakistan. We always seek help from England or the US. We cannot negotiate with India unless we increase capacity,” he said.
“How can anyone from our government talk about water as an economic resource with [Indian Prime Minsiter] to Manmohan Singh? He has a PhD in economics; no one in our government does,” he said.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan had potential water disputes with Afghanistan too. “Seventeen per cent of our water is from Afghanistan. Now I hear Afghanistan is planning new structures on the River Kabul which the Pakistan government is not doing anything about. I foresee serious interprovincial and interstate issues. A conflict resolution mechanism is needed,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2011.
COMMENTS (27)
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Also terrorism will be gone once borders with India and Afghanistan are sealed. Forget about business and open borders. . . . this is no time for it.
Yeah, keep forgetting old issues and new ones will keep on piling and pretty soon Pak will be completely covered with issues. Please clean up old issues before adding new ones. . . . . Kashmir and water first!!!! Get with UN regarding Kashmir and water. Get to work on these important issues right away Pakistan, enough time has been wasted.
@Nasir: Where did you get the funny idea that India "panics" or that you can make it do so? And, for Heaven's sake, what makes you think that India should do this or that because, otherwise, you would not approve of her or consider her guilty? Let me remind you that India cannot be bullied, not by Pakistan, not by any one on behalf of Pakistan, be they the OIC or the entire ummah or Richard Milhaus Nixon or Henry Kissinger. Geez, one would have thought that even you would have got it by now. Now get back to work for Pakistan; it is in a heap of trouble. Consider Kashmir to be a moon for Pakistan! Stop pining for it!
I fondly recall the incident during one of the visits of the Syed Jamat Ali Shah when he was PPIC when discussions were still going on over the Baglihar issue. Indian PIC decided to take them to IIT Roorkee to the Hydrological Institute to show them the technical model of the BHEP. At the end of the meeting, the PPIC Syed Jamat Ali Shah openly declared that they could not understand most of the technical matters. This news Item corroborates those facts now when Jamat Ali Shah says:
*that Pakistan lacked water experts. “We do not have a single international water expert in Pakistan. We always seek help from England or the US. We cannot negotiate with India unless we increase capacity,” *
It seems Pakistan wanted drinking water from Eastern River and in turn India asked for Chenab , Indus waters. This is typical Pakistani approach like a spoilt child. It only wants but can't give. There , you can't have negotiations with juveniles and ignorants
as per the indus water treaty, indus, jhelum and chenab waters were to be used by pakistan and ravibeas and sutlej to be used by india. now pakistan wants water from india from rivers india is entitled to use. and when india refuses or asks for something in return, they are called banias. why do pakistanis want the whole world to do them favors?
and do you guys read that seventeen percent of pakistans water comes from afghanistan, the same afghanistan that is being shelled by pakistani army at the same moment we are discussing this now why should afghanistan allow its rivers to flow into pakistan, the same pakistan which is shelling afghans?
Whenever there is talk about Kashmir, Indians got panic, coming with lame excuses, taunting on Pakistan etc. If you guys are so confident on Kashmir as NO ONE wants to join Pakistan, why not call UN to conduct a referendum on both sides of Kashmir and get the Pakistani Kashmir once for all.
For more than 60 years through wars and terror attacks and unrelenting propaganda, the Indus Water Treaty has held between India and Pakistan. Why? Simply because India has the advantage as the source of the waters of the various rivers and has shown tremendous self control and generosity of spirit toward Pakistan.
Does anybody believe that if Pakistan had been terrorized by India, attacked by India, abused by India in international fora (as Pakistan had done to India), that Pakistan would have shown such generosity toward India? The answer is obvious.
The IWT has held over 6 decades not because of Pakistan but despite Pakistan. It is yet another sign that India has kept its hand of friendship open toward Pakistan since 1947. India has extended the Most Favored Nation status toward Pakistan. India has adopted the "no first use" nuclear policy with respect to Pakistan. Pakistan has done neither. The results are there for all to see.
If Pakistan would accept the hand of friendship from India, it may or may not help India, but it would be the greatest boon for stability and prosperity for Pakistan to count India as a trading and economic partner. Here is hoping for the best, despite the facts on the ground.
IWT gives Ravi waters entirely to India. But a group consisting entirely of Pakistanis with no Indian representation from India meet and decidee that India should be asked to share Ravi waters. Ofcourse! It should also be asked to give up Jammu and Kashmir. But things don't work like that.
Pakistan has already gone to for arbitration on IWT and so far no decision in favour of Pakistan has cme. So what is the basis for people to say that India has violated IWT?
If the expectation is that during abnormally heavy rains, India should absorb the entire impact so only Indian vilages get impacted and Pak villages are spared - that won't happen. Likewise if the expectation is that during drought, India should give up its share of water so that Pakistan farmers gain at the cost of Indian farmers - that won't happen either. During drought both countries will suffer and likewise during floods.
Drought, India withheld water. Flood, India did not warn ahead. Does any body in PAK know how IW is managed?
IWT is perhaps the best cooperation between India and PAK even when they were bombing each other.
The problem of flooding and drought on the Indus water basin goes way way way back even before PAK was carved out. Read Mogul era history and also the travelers account of Sindh prior to that.
If any, the excess water in Pakistan side is causing salination of the soil, and it was brought to PAK attention as early as 1960s.
Locks, distribution network, water conservation reservoir are needed.
But all these do not get the votes, do they?
@Manju...well said boss. :)
@Infidel Humanist: 1) You said "Great Islamic State of Pakistan". Thereby you don't even qualify to comment on Secularism. 2) You said "Kashmir runs in the blood of every Pakistani". But for india Kashmir is it's blood. May be thats the reason why you keep sending terrorists here to keep it bleeding more and more. Guess what? Mother india is strong enough to take care of her beloved kid Kashmir. 3) And what do you have to say of the blood being spilled by the americans (especially of the pakistani army), "blood is thicker than water?". Looks more like pakistani blood is thinner than the air let alone water.
@Luminite: The word "forget" is not using in the headlines . The message is about the Priorities of both countries because there are so many other issues as well as Kashmir.. I think we have to accept the opinion of different school of thoughts than we try to resolve our major and minor issues . Pakistan Zindabad...
I already sent a mail to Tribune regarding thebwter logging problem in the lower reaches of Sindh and ways to sovle these with cooperation from India. We have to make a new beginning The right thinking people and intelectuals in both the countries should look at what bound us together (Both for right and wrong reasons but let us build on the right ones.) for centuries as one country. Dedicated thinking on such issues prompted people of Europe to come together after sevral devastating Wars over centuries. Fortunately our Legacy is much nobler compared to the Europeans. If they can come together and solve the Water isuues of Rivers like Danube which flow through several countries so can we. In this sense also we are better placed. Let us do some thing in the interests of our people rather than involving US etc. If we involve other Countries in our affairs it will bring their national interest into account rather than our collective interest as Suth asians or people from the Indian Sub continent. I sincerely belive time has come for the people to come together leaving the baggage of the unsavoury past and build on the future. My Email ID above is mentioned wrongly. I want Tribune to correct it. I am giving it here. I invite like minded people come together and start it as peoples movment to achieve Our (with a capital O) rightful and exalted place in the Comity of Nations as two good neighbours. pedakakani@gmail.com
I feel rain water harvesting is grossly under utilized considering the abundant rainfall.
@Aadil: "Pakistanis don’t like them and call them baniyas"?? Its better than being called terrorists by the whole world..Leave out of PoK, get back the land you gifted to China and then talk about of Azadi of Kashmiris..And the demography of Kashmir should be same as it existed in 1947 (Pandits must return to valley)..This is what the UN resolutions says..if you are literate enough, go and read that first..FYI, only 3% of valley muslims seems to be wanting to join Pakistan...whoever kashmiris, anti-India, they only ask for total independence..so stop day dreaming ..
The line I liked the most is this,“How can anyone from our government talk about water as an economic resource with [Indian Prime Minsiter] to Manmohan Singh? He has a PhD in economics; no one in our government does,”
'When Pakistanis asked for early information on water discharge so it could compile flood warnings, the Indians sought water from the Chenab and Indus.'
And the Indians wonder why ordinary Pakistanis don't like them and call them baniyas. Indus, Jhelam and Chenab all flow through IHK, if the Kashmir dispute is settled as per the UN resolutions we wont be dependent on the Indian intrancigence.
When the IWT was negotiated, Pakistan had the full backing of the US and hence the World Bank. India was "persuaded" to give in much more than it should have. Now if Pakistan cannot manage its resources properly leading to wastage,seepage, water logging and the like then that is Pakistan's problem.
All these people are burger-liberals and secular extremists who hate the Great Islamic State of Pakistan. Do they not know that Kashmir runs in the blood of every Pakistani [TM Gen. Mush]., and that blood is thicker than water.
How about education, health, economy, dengue! Target killings, secretritian violence and most of all our backyard
@sanwar: no wonder you guys dont understand economics
Wow what a news! Sometimes ET forgets the difference the difference between news and stupidity.