This is apropos an op-ed titled “Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects: a fait accompli?” carried by the newspaper recently. The writer, Engr Hussain Ahmad Siddiqui, deserves commendation for bringing under focus the matter of such high import.
The writer has argued, among other things, that “The Kishanganga power station has been operational since May 2018, and the Ratle project, under construction since June 2013, is scheduled for commissioning in May 2026. These projects directly impact Pakistan’s water security by altering natural river flows.
Given their potential to deprive Pakistan of its fair share of water, the government’s lack of transparency on this issue is both alarming and unacceptable.“ The writer is spot on, so to speak.
Having said that, I would like to make mention of an article titled “India and Pakistan Are Playing a Dangerous Game in the Indus Basin” carried by United States Institute of Peace exactly two years ago. The author of this write-up, Daniel Haines, had felt, in my view, the pulse of the dispute in a fascingating manner.
According to this environmentalist historian, for example, “But the core of the problem is that India wants to build hydropower projects on the River Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. Under the treaty [Indus Water Treaty], Pakistan can make free use of their waters.
But the treaty imposes limits on what India, located upstream, can do with them.“ It is increasingly clear that India seeks to use water as a weapon of war against Pakistan through unjust and unlawful water structures on the three rivers.
It is therefore important to note that India has already translated, albeit partially, its threat of reducing water flows to Pakistan into a reality. Be that as it may, Pakistani leadership in particular is required to come clean on this matter without any further loss of time.
The incumbent government is required to seek help from China to send a strong message to India: India is both an upstream and a downstream country — Ganga-Brahmaputra and Indus — and it too can experience reduced water inflows from its neighbors, China and Nepal.
Rehan Siddiqui (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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