LAHORE: Pakistan on Tuesday accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan’s control according to the now suspended Indus Waters Treaty.
This major river originates in India but was allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, signed by the two nuclear powers.
India suspended the treaty following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 people.
Islamabad warned that tampering with its rivers would be considered “an act of war.”
“We have witnessed changes in the river (Chenab) which are not natural at all,” Kazim Pirzada, irrigation minister for Punjab province, told AFP.
Punjab, bordering India and home to nearly half of Pakistan’s 240 million citizens, is the country’s agricultural heartland, and “the majority impact will be felt in areas which have fewer alternate water routes,” Pirzada warned.
“One day the river had normal inflow and the next day it was greatly reduced,” Pirzada added.
In Azad Kashmir, large quantities of water from India were reportedly released on April 26, according to the Jinnah Institute, a think tank led by a former Pakistani climate change minister.
“This is being done so that we don’t get to utilize the water,” Pirzada added.
The gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam in Indian-administered Kashmir which lies upstream of Pakistani Punjab “have been lowered to restrict water flow ... as a short-term punitive action,” a senior Indian official has told The Indian Express.
The Indus Waters Treaty permits India to use shared rivers for dams or irrigation but prohibits diverting watercourses or altering downstream volumes.
Indian authorities have not commented yet but Kushvinder Vohra, former head of India’s Central Water Commission, told The Times of India: “Since the treaty is on pause ... we may do flushing on any project without any obligation.”
Experts said the water cannot be stopped in the longer term, and that India can only regulate timings of when it releases flows.
However, the Jinnah Institute warned: “Even small changes in the timing of water releases can disrupt sowing calendars (and) reduce crop yields.”
Pakistan accuses India of altering Chenab River flow as tensions rise
https://arab.news/prbr8
Pakistan accuses India of altering Chenab River flow as tensions rise
- Punjab irrigation minister says Pakistan has ‘witnessed changes in the river which are not natural’
- India recently lowered the sluice gates of the Baglihar dam to restrict water as a ‘punitive action’
Pakistan stocks hit another all-time high as optimism prevails over worker remittances
- Pakistan recorded an inflow of $3.6 billion in Dec., with officials expecting remittances to exceed $40 billion this fiscal year
- ENGROH, PPL, SAZEW, OGDC and PSO collectively added 661 points as the benchmark KSE-100 index rose by 860 points
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) hit a another all-time high as it crossed 188,000 points on Tuesday, amid hopes of strong remittance inflows and budget relief linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks.
Pakistan recorded an inflow of $3.6 billion in December, with Saudi Arabia emerging as the largest contributor. Pakistani officials expect remittances to exceed $40 billion this fiscal year.
On Tuesday, the benchmark KSE-100 index gained 860.09 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 188,621.78 points, up from the previous close of 187,761.69 points, according to PSX data.
Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News the market witnessed bullish activity amid speculation of the earnings season.
“FM (finance minister) expectations for $41 billion remittances in FY26, and expectations over renegotiation of IMF deal for relief in federal budget played a catalyst role in the record close at PSX,” he said.
Pakistan is currently navigating a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approved in Sept. 2024, which has seen Islamabad take several reforms, including privatization of loss-making state entities.
Meanwhile, Pakistani market research firm Topline Securities said in its daily review that the upward momentum at PSX was driven by buying from local mutual funds.
“Additionally, SAZEW [Sazgar Engineering Works Limited] notified that it will commence bookings for its CKD [Completely Knocked Down models] — ‘TANK-500 Hi4-T 4x4 2.0L Turbo AT PHEV and HEV’ — starting Monday, January 26, 2026,” Topline Securities Senior Equity Trader Naveed Nadeem said.
CKD means the cars are assembled locally from imported parts.
Engro Holdings Limited (ENGROH), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), SAZEW, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC), and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) collectively added 661 points to the index, according to the research firm.
It said a total of 1,222 million shares were traded at a value of $227.86 million (Rs63.8 billion) on Tuesday, with Hascol Petroleum Limited topping the volume chart by trading 113 million shares.
