ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday asked India to share the Indus water fairly or Islamabad will secure it “from all six rivers.”
The statement came days after Indian interior minister Amit Shah said New Delhi will “never” reinstate the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) it suspended with Pakistan over an attack in India-administered Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of backing the assault, a charge denied by Islamabad and one which was followed by four-day military standoff between the two countries last month.
The IWT grants Pakistan rights to the Indus basin’s western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while 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, according to the agreement.
A day after the Kashmir attack that killed 26 tourists, New Delhi announced it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, in abeyance. Pakistan has previously said the treaty has no provision for one side to unilaterally pull back and that any blocking of river water flowing to Pakistan will be considered “an act of war.”
