ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Saturday warned of flooding in river Jhelum after India’s unannounced discharge of additional water, amid surging tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
India announced this week it will suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty under which the two neighbors regulate the water share of six rivers in the Indus Basin. This decision was taken after New Delhi blamed Pakistan for being involved in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists this week. Pakistan denies the allegations.
The Jhelum river flows from Indian-administered Kashmir into Azad Kashmir and then Punjab. Suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty means India can stop sharing crucial information and data on the release of water from barrages/dams or on flooding.
“Due to India releasing more water than usual into the Jhelum River, there is moderate flooding,” a spokesperson of the Azad Kashmir government said in a press release on Saturday.
The spokesperson urged residents to avoid visiting areas near the Jhelum river due to the rising water levels.
As per the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan has rights to the western rivers— Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab— for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower. India controls the eastern rivers— Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej— for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow.
India can use the western rivers for limited purposes such as power generation and irrigation, without storing or diverting large volumes. Experts, like Hassaan F. Khan from Tufts University, argue that India lacks the infrastructure to divert large amounts of Indus waters.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday warned attempts to reduce or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty would be “responded to with full force.”
“Our valiant armed forces remain fully capable and prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity against any misadventure as clearly demonstrated by its measured yet resolute response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019,” he said.
