“This will inflame tensions in a bilateral relationship already bristling with hostility and mistrust”
Senior Pakistan People’s Party leader and Senator Sherry Rehman on Monday criticized India’s approval of a new hydropower project on the Chenab River, warning that “weaponization of water was neither sensible nor acceptable” and accusing New Delhi of violating the Indus Water Treaty.
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“In blatant violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), India has just approved the Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab River in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).”
She said the treaty framework could not be changed unilaterally. “As per the IWT, which cannot be revoked unilaterally, as confirmed by recent UN rapporteurs, Pakistan controls the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers, while the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers fall under the control of India,” she said.
Rehman warned that India’s recent steps demonstrated a broader strategy following what she described as an illegal suspension of the treaty.
“Following the illegal suspension of the treaty, India has decided to fast-track several controversial hydropower projects in the Indus basin. These projects include Sawalkot, Ratle, Bursar, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru and Kirthai-1 and 2. Dulhasti Stage-II is considered to be part of this strategy,” she said.
She warned that such actions would have serious consequences at the regional level.
“This militarization of water is neither sensible nor acceptable in a region on the front lines of climate change and environmental stress. It will inflame tensions in a bilateral relationship already bristling with hostility and mistrust,” she said.
