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The Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, Economic Affairs and Law (KCFR) in collaboration with Pakistan-India Citizens Friendship Forum (PICFF) recently held an interactive session on ‘The Indus Water Treaty' in Karachi. H. E. Sharat Sabharwal, the High Commissioner of India was the guest of honor on the occasion. KCFR over the past six years of its existence has organized several programs inviting diplomats to speak on the issues of international political importance. Mr. Ahsan Mukhtar Zubairi, General Secretary and CEO, KCFR, and Lt. Gen. (retd.) Moinuddin Haider, Chairman KFCR have endeavored to invite international guests to speak over these years.
In his address, Mr. Sabharwal noted that global water resources today are being taken for granted by mankind, as a result of which water is becoming scarce.
Mr. Sabharwal said the issue of water sharing that arose between India and Pakistan in 1947 was settled with by the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960, signed between India and Pakistan with the good offices of the World Bank. It laid down the rights and obligations of both sides in relation to the use of waters of the Indus system of rivers through bilateral means or use, if necessary, of the services of a neutral expert or a Court of Arbitration.
Those who question the fairness of the Indus Waters Treaty to Pakistan, he said, need to note that 80% share of water was assigned to Pakistan. The Treaty gave the use of Eastern Rivers (Sutlej, Beas and Ravi) - with a mean flow of 33 MAF - to India, while giving the use of the Western Rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab - with a mean flow of 136 MAF - to Pakistan. Since Pakistan was dependent on water supplies from the Eastern Rivers until the 15th of August 1947, India also agreed to pay a sum of 62 million pounds to Pakistan to build replacement canals from the Western Rivers and other sources.
He said India is yet to fully use its entitlement to the waters of the Western Rivers. As against its storage entitlement of 3.6 MAF, India has built no storage so far. Out of the area of 1.34 million acres, permitted for irrigation, it is currently irrigating only 0.792 million acres. It has exploited only a fraction of the hydroelectric potential available to it on these rivers. Out of a total potential of 18,653 MW, projects worth 2324 MW have been commissioned and those for 659 MW are under construction. In any case, the Indian diplomat said, even after India starts using its full entitlement of water from the Western Rivers under the Treaty, it will amount to no more than three percent of the mean flow in these rivers.
He said it was alleged that India is hindering water flows into Pakistan and developing the infrastructure to stop and divert these flows to serve its own needs. Such accusations bear no relation whatsoever to the reality on the ground, emphasized Mr. Sabharwal.
Regarding the accusation that India is building hundreds of dams/ hydroelectric projects to deny Pakistan its share of water, he said there are no quantitative limits on the hydroelectricity that India can produce using the Western Rivers. However, India has so far undertaken a limited number of projects. It has provided information to Pakistan, as per the Treaty, in respect of 33 projects. This certainly does not make for hundreds of dams/ hydroelectric projects.
Concerns have also been expressed about some Indian projects on Western Rivers from the environmental point of view.
"I would like to assure you that we have strict norms for such projects under our Environmental Protection Act and Forests Protection Act. These norms include Catchment Area Treatment Plans and Compensatory afforestation," Mr. Sabharwal said.
The issue of water scarcity in Pakistan cannot be analyzed fully without looking at the picture in the large part of the Indus basin - around 65% - that lies in Pakistan's territory or territory controlled by Pakistan.
Mr. Sabharwal said, "We need to adhere to the spirit of co-operation, inherent in the Treaty, in ensuring its implementation and to identify further areas of co-operation within its framework."
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