Pakistan—India water

Disputes
Irfan Waheed Usmani
• Introduction
• Historical background
• Pakistan-India water Disputes– the recent dimensions
• India’s breaching of Pakistan’s water rights and Pakistan’s concerns :
Pakistan’s Stance: (I)
• What Pak has accused India of ?
• The factor/ element complicating the situation is certain inherent flaws in
the IWT
• Implications
• Suggestions
Introduction

The emerging What has been the The nature of blame Implications The worst-case/
challenge in the practice or norm of game frightening
India-Pakistan Indian governments scenario that is
relations in past being constructed/
imagined
The recent irritant Used water as How has the blame (I) Aggravating The Suspende
instrument [figurative] game embittered/ Pakistan’s water fourth d
to run /make negatively impacted crisis India- judgemen
Pakistan's agricultural (II) The threat it Pakistan t
the relations
economy dry. poses to the war could
between the two country’s be fought
Examples: (I) Radcliffe
Award; (II) April 1948; countries? agriculture sector on shaing
(iii) the construction of (III) Another of water
Farkkha barrage on dimensions resources.
Bhramaputra,and; (IV) related to defence
what has India been
doing since the last
two decades
Historical background: on what occasions the water
issue has embittered the relations of the two countries?

The controversies April 1948 1966 : the construction of Since the last two
surrounding partition of Farkha Barrage on decades India’s
the subcontinent Brahmaputra systematic and serious
violations of IWT
On the eve of partition The construction of
above-prescribed height
dams on the western
rivers
Pakistan-India water Disputes– the recent
dimensions
• 3.1 India’s Violation of Indus Basin Treaty
• 3.1.1 The Projects India is building on the Western rivers: (I) Chenab; (II) Jhelum, and; (III) Sindh
 The Projects on Chenab
The name of the Project Location Purpose Effects/Pakistan’s
Concerns/Objections
Baglihar 5 km North of Bandi Pur in Jand K It diverts water from Kishanga See the next slide
Ganga Power plant to Jhelum
river.
Pakul Dal Tributary of Chenab river near 1000 megawatt Ali Waqar, “Pakistan’s concerns
Kistwar district. Storage-cum-power project over India’s Hydro-electric
108 000 acre feet. projects …” Dawn 29 August 2018
Ratle Downstream of the village of 850 MW run-of-river hydroelectric
June 2013 Ratle in Drab Shalla in Kistwar project
district
Dal Hasti Kistwar 390 MW
Divert water South to 10-km long
head race tunnel into a power
station on the reservoir of Dal
Hasti
Sawal Kot
Lower KALNAI HYDROPROJECT On a Left bank tributary of Permissible poundage capacity
Chenab 48MW cubic 0.38 cubic mega metres
2.74 cubic mega meter
Ali Waqar, “Pakistan’s concerns
over India’s Hydro-electric
projects …” Dawn 29 August 2018
For more information on Pakul dal and Lower
Kalnai Projects
• Raja Riaz, “ Talks on Pakul Dal and Lower Kalnai Dams inconclusive” ,
30 August 2018…
The Projects on Jhelum
The name of the Location Purpose Effects/Pakistan’s
Project Concerns/Objections
Kishanganga 5 kilometre north of 330 MW It will divert water from
Bandipur kishanganga to power
plant in Jhelum river.
Uri II Near Uri in baramulla 240 MW
sector Installed capacity
Wullar Barrage Below Wullar lake
The Projects on Indus
The name of the Project Location Purpose Effects/Pakistan’s
Concerns/Objections
Chutak Ruu-on-the-revier Saru in 44 MW hydroelectric plant
kargil district
Nimoo Bazgo Run-on-the-river Alchi village
75 km from Leh
Hanu Small Hydro electric Dah and Hanu
plant Village in Leh
3.3 India’s breaching of Pakistan’s water rights
and Pakistan’s concerns : Pakistan’s Stance: (I)
• IWT allows India to construct new run of the river hydroelectric
plants on the western rivers ( Indus, Chenab, Jhelum) with in the
design criteria and the storage works under the limitations as
provided in the treaty
• What Pakistan accuses India of?
What Pakistan accuses India of(I) ?
• (I) Of constructing dams, barrages and storage works above the
prescribe height: examples
What Pakistan accuses India of (II) Mohammad Nawaz Khan, “Water
Woes”, DT, 30 November 2019: Pakistan’s other major complains
against India
India is not providing (III) delaying tactics to (IV) Delays in arranging (V) India reluctance to
data to Pakistan about its resolve crisis for gaining participatory meeting of allow the tours of
projects at the planning maximum time. Permanent Indus inspection asked by
stage Commissioners Pakistan on prompt basis
as given in treaty

India is obligated to Examples of delaying

provide data to Pakistan tactics: During the
about its projects at the execution of the projects
planning stage , i.e. six like baglihar and
months prior to the Kishanganga when New
construction of river Delhi engaged Islamabad
projects under the Article in technicalities but kept
VII(2) paragraph 9 civil side works moving on
Annexture-D of IWT for years until reaching
the fait accompli stage,
when challenged at
international forums.
(NP) The factor/ element complicating the
situation is certain inherent flaws in the IWT
• (a)inclusion of permissive and restrictive provisions in the treaty
creates an in-built situation which provides different interpretations,
thus causing friction between the two countries.
• (b) No provision in the treaty expressly authorises India to construct
a certain number of dams. Neither there is one that prohibits India
from making dams beyond a certain number. Clearly, therefore, the
number of dams that India wishes to construct on western rivers is an
issue outside the scope of the treaty: [over all criticism]
• (c) The issue of climate change was not considered in 1960, which has
now become a serious issue that requires renewal of the treaty.
 • The Specific example of
India’s construction of
Implications(I) dams and water storage
projects on Chenab…
Implications(II) (I)
• The projects on Jhelum could result in drying up of Nelum valley
Implications
(III)
Suggestions
• (I) Both sides should show restrain and realize the intensity of the
water crisis: Implications…
• (II) The need to renew the IWT considering the factors of climate
change: add critique on IWT to problematize and then synthesize
• (III) Muhammad Nawaz Khan: Pakistan should expedite its efforts for
arbitration though the available forums i.e. the court of arbitration
and neutral experts…
• (IV) Role of SAARC: make SAARC more effective….: it can
contextualize beyond the narrow parameters of India- Pakistan blame
game
• Shaminder Puri said the rights were embedded in the legal
framework and they are derived from some traditional systems,
in post-British colonial countries they were tied to land
ownership – and the landowner felt any water on his land
belonged to him.
• (V) Role of regulator :
• (VII) There is urgent need to arrive at realization of the environmental
challenges that the region of South Asia is going to face in the coming
decades and considering there challenges the South countries should
synergize the efforts to address water crisis at broader level.
• (VIII) role of civil society, media, academia and NGO’s in influencing
the nature and direction of public policy . The governments should
provide them more space
• (IX) one can suggest certain CBM’s to address the trust deficit and
suspicions
• (X) World forum should be more sensitive and responsive towards
Pakistan’s concerns: implication
(I) Both sides should show restrain and realize
the intensity of the water crisis: Implications
(II) The need to renew the IWT considering the
factors of climate change: add critique on IWT to
problematize and then synthesize
(III) Muhammad Nawaz Khan: Pakistan should expedite its efforts for
arbitration though the available forums i.e. the court of arbitration and
neutral experts
(IV) Role of SAARC: make SAARC more effective….:
it can contextualize beyond the narrow
parameters of India- Pakistan blame game
(V) Role of Regulator
• “Water is a public good and associating rights with a public resource is
complicated,” he said. “It can be done but it needs to have an independent
regulator. Assuring rights also means access to that right. With rights,
there are certain obligations and we must understand the connection
between them – to replenish and to conserve whatever is utilised what you
take from rivers and aquifers”.
• “There is an enormous amount of tools and solutions out there but
connecting that to decision makers is where the void is.”
• Mr Puri said with governments being the regulators were finding it difficult
to make the resource available.
• role of regulators (II) Louise Croneborg Jones: “The role of regulators
within institutions and communities is important,” she said.
(VII) There is urgent need to arrive at realization of the environmental challenges
that the region of South Asia is going to face in the coming decades and considering
there challenges the South countries should synergize the efforts to address water
crisis at broader level.
(VIII) role of civil society, media, academia and NGO’s in influencing the
nature and direction of public policy . The governments should provide
them more space
(IX) one can suggest certain CBM’s to address the
trust deficit and suspicions
(X) World forum should be more sensitive and
responsive towards Pakistan’s concerns:
implication