Since ancient civilizations, water, as the most essential component that breeds life, has triggered clashes and full blown wars between its users and shareholders, a phenomenon that is being replicated in the subcontinent for decades now. The Pakistani administration has been aware of a perceived threat from India on the water issue and, despite knowing India’s aggressive policy and unreliable dealings in the past, have kept their eyes tightly shut on the threatening menace that is on the verge of engulfing the nation if not handled immediately and adeptly by our leaders.
The first display of such aggression was seen and suffered by Pakistan in its first year on April 1, 1948, when India stopped the water flowing from the canals on its side, denying water to a huge area of sown and cultivated land. This water supply was restored after the Inter-Dominion Agreement with India according to which water could be used by Pakistan for irrigation purposes until alternate resources were developed by Pakistan.
The seizure of water supply has been dangling over Pakistan since, forcing both countries to seek help from Washington. After a series of talks in Washington, both countries managed to sign the Indus Water Treaty that gave India full rights to use water from the eastern rivers by building dams and barrages. It allowed limited irrigation use of water from the western rivers reserved for Pakistan. The treaty barred India from interfering with the water of these rivers except for domestic use and non-consumptive use, limited agriculture use and limited utilisation for generation of hydroelectric power. The treaty also barred India from storing any water or constructing any storage works on the western rivers, which would result in a reduced flow of water to Pakistan.
The Indus Water Treaty, though very effective, was taken as the last word by the Pakistanis who then, practicing their evasion-policy-on–all-important-matters, became engrossed in affairs of a much different nature, which enabled them to sink their claws into the state’s resources and building barriers not for the accumulation of precious water but the accumulation of personal wealth. At that time, the Indian government was busy in devising strategies for crushing the enemy without even firing a single bullet. The earth swung on its axis for the Pakistanis for the second time in 1984, when India announced its plan to build the Wullar barrage on the Jhelum River at the mouth of Wullar Lake, the largest fresh water lake near the town of Sopore in the disputed Kashmir Valley, which India called the Tulbul Navigation Project. Work on this project was stopped after protests from Pakistan.
Again, in 1992, Pakistan learned of plans for another controversial water reservoir, the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River, which was also allotted to Pakistan by the 1960 treaty. Pakistan demands that India agree to stop all work on the project till both countries succeed in arriving at a resolution. According to India, there is no provision in the treaty for stoppage of work, and past experience in this context has also not been productive as the Indians felt that the technical discussion on the matter indicated that convergence of views on some issues was possible, and again proposed that experts from both sides continue their technical discussions, which is indicative of a time-gaining tactic.
The first phase of the dam was completed in 2008, marked by the Indian declaration of 67 such similar projects, which had been initiated by India from which 19 had been completed — statement enough to shake the Pakistan government out of a trance into urgent and instantaneous counteraction. The estimate made in 2009 revealed that Pakistan is on the verge of disaster as M Yusuf Sarwar, a member of the Indus Basin Water Council, had warned that the lessening flow of water in the rivers and shortage of water generally could cause Pakistan to be declared a disaster-affected nation by 2013. A fact that is being proved accurate as the lack of any workable policy leads to an increasing threat.
Pakistan has simultaneously been confronted by multiple internal threats that have further saddled the nation with undue pressure. The shortage of water aggravates the condition of the common man that has yet to be addressed in an appropriate manner. What little remained of the debilitated economy has been exhausted by the ongoing war on terror that has, for around a decade now, been slowly bleeding the nation while engaging its precious resources and manpower so that no attention is extended to matters of utmost importance.
Furthermore, domestic incompetence and irresponsible behaviour on the part of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) in terms of water usage and distribution also leads to significance loss of valuable water as our rivers are losing a huge amount to the seas due to a lack of dams, storage areas and reservoirs. Moreover, the internal dispute between the two provinces of Punjab and Sindh over the unequal supply of water has been a cause of grave misery as IRSA was unable to resolve a straightforward internal issue. How do we plan to make India see and accept our viewpoint if we ourselves fail to stand on one platform?
The water dispute has been on the Pakistani agenda for the composite dialogue between both the countries but no progress is seen as the Indian side fails to take seriously the concerns that Pakistan has raised regarding the building of dams and reservoirs on the Pakistani rivers. The Indian side does not believe in talking about anything that is not in its interest, thus yielding no results whatsoever. It has been perceived as an Indian strategy to ‘strangle Pakistan’ by completely hegemonising its water supply, which, if not stopped, may lead to the worst famine and economic disaster. The armed forces of Pakistan too have shown great concern as senior officials have described it as a “defence security concern” and that a number of canals, drains and distributaries are essential in times of war.
Pakistan needs to wake up to the real threats that confront it. It is the government’s incompetence in dealing with key issues, to make its concerns heard by the international community, to prepare a strong case and to make sure the outcome is in the national interest. This is Pakistan’s most significant and pressing concern. India needs to realise that there can never be peace in the region if Pakistan’s peace is threatened.
The writer is a lecturer in the Linguistics Department of Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, and presently working on her PhD thesis in discourse analysis. She can be reached at [email protected]