New Delhi:
The sowing of Kharif, or monsoonal, crops in Pakistan is taking a hit because of a drop in water from the Indus River System being released from India following the suspension of the water-sharing treaty after the Pahalgam terror attack, a report by Islamabad has indicated.
The latest “Daily Water Situation” Report released by the Pakistan government’s Indus River System Authority (IRSA) shows the total water released from the Indus River System to Pakistan’s Sindh province on June 16 this year was 1.33 lakh cusecs against 1.6 lakh on the same day last year – a drop of 16.87%.
The water released from the Indus River System to the Punjab province is also slightly less on the same date this year – 1.26 lakh cusecs against 1.29 lakh last year, which represents a 2.25% reduction.
The report indicates that there is less water left in the rivers and reservoirs connected to the Indus River System in Pakistan at a time when the sowing of Kharif crops is on. This is causing problems for farmers in the country and, with the monsoon in the country still at least two weeks away, the crisis is only expected to deepen.
Flood Preparedness Hit?
After suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, India has also stopped sharing information about the water level of the rivers connected to the Indus River System with Pakistan.
So, when the water level of the rivers connected to the Indus River System increases in India, Pakistan, which is downstream, may find itself unprepared if there is flooding.
Treaty Details
The Indus Waters Treaty, which was signed in 1960 and remained in place since then despite tensions between the countries, was suspended by India after the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed.
As part of the treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank, India has full right over the three eastern rivers in the Indus system – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej – while Pakistan got access to around 135 million acre feet (MAF) of water from the three Western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab – all of which flow downstream to the country from India.
While Pakistan has objected to the treaty’s suspension, India has repeatedly said that “blood and water cannot flow together”.
