rattled by Narendra Modi government’s plans to stop the flow of water after suspension of Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan has announced that it will increase its water storage capacity and complete the Diamer Bhasha Dam project with the help of its “iron brother” China, to meet that goal.
Indus Water Treaty: Pakistan is rattled as India has set in motion plans to halt water supply from the Indus river system after the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty following the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year. Now, panicked and rattled by Narendra Modi government’s plans to stop the flow of water, Pakistan has announced that it will increase its water storage capacity and will build a large dam with the help of its “iron brother” China, to meet that goal.
How Pakistan plans to increase water storage capacity?
The announcement was made by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his visit the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) in Islamabad. Sharif said that the country will increase its water storage capacities in the next few years, and use the Diamer Bhasha dam and similar projects for that purpose, adding that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will play an important role in the matter.
The Pakistani prime minister stated that the “enemy” had “illegally” suspended the Indus Water Treaty, but Islamabad will enhance its capacity to store more water without any dispute using projects such as the Diamer Bhasha dam. Sharif also talked about the damage caused by 2022 floods and the danger of water crisis posed by climate change.
What makes Diamer Bhasha Dam project a concern for India?
The Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a concrete-filled gravity dam being built on the Indus River between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Once completed, the gigantic dam will be a staggering 272 meters in height, making it the world’s tallest Roller Compact Concrete (RCC) dam.
The dam will have a reservoir of about 8 million acre feet (MAF).
However, apart from Pakistan, its ally China has shown keen interest in the project as Beijing wants it to be a part of the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This is a major cause of concern of New Delhi as China will increase its influence and interference in a strategic region which lies close to the India’s borders.
How Pakistan depends on the Indus river system?
Pakistan is an agrarian economy and its agriculture is heavily dependent on the Indus river system, especially the Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus rivers. If India manages to divert or completely stop the flow of water to Pakistan from these, the neighboring country’s agriculture could be seriously impacted and even lead to crop failures and drought in severe cases.
Why India suspended the Indus Water Treaty?
Earlier this year, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty after the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, and now the Modi government has devised a long-term strategy that will make Pakistan yearn for every single drop of water in the coming future.
According to reports, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is committed to make Pakistan pay for the Pahalgam massacre, and plans are in place in to restrict water from the Indus, Sutlej and Beas rivers to the enemy country.
