Post Indus Waters Treaty suspension, India cuts water flow through Baglihar dam

New Delhi: Days after suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, India has stanched the flow of water through the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River and is planning similar measures at the Kishanganga Dam on the Jhelum River, a source said.

PTI reported that a source familiar with the matter said these hydroelectric dams -- Baglihar in Ramban in Jammu and Kishanganga in north Kashmir -- offer India the ability to regulate the timing of water releases. Indus Waters Treaty had ensured water for 80 per cent of agriculture lands in Pakistan. 

India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty while downgrading its diplomatic relations with Pakistan in the aftermath of Pahalgam terrorist attack. It was on April 22, militants killed 26 people, mostly tourists at Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir’s popular tourist spot which is called as Mini Switzerland.

The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, has governed the use of the Indus River which is popular as Sindhu and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960.

The Baglihar Dam has been a longstanding point of contention between the two neighbours, with Pakistan having sought World Bank arbitration in the past. 

The Kishanganga Dam has faced legal and diplomatic scrutiny, especially regarding its impact on the Neelum River, a tributary of the Jhelum.

Now, all eyes are on the response from the Pakistan as the neighbouring country had slammed India for suspending the treaty. The Pakistan government in a statement said that it would consider any attempt by India to stop the supply of water from the Indus River ‘an act of war’.

"Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty... will be considered as an act of war and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power," a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office said after a rare national security committee meeting.