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South Asia teeters precariously upon a powder keg of existential volatility, ironically fuelled by water itself. This dangerous moment has been propelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagitious and untenable proclamation that the waters of the Indus basin belong exclusively to India.
One reaches this sombre conclusion after reading the incisive column by Ahmar Bilal Soofi, titled “Dams on Chenab — a target?”. A leading jurist, Soofi has consistently advocated rigorous legal remedies against Modi’s malevolent suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 — an act tantamount to de facto abrogation, devoid of legitimacy under the principle of pacta sunt servanda.
This assertion by New Delhi not only repudiates solemn treaty obligations but weaponises a vital shared resource, imperilling the agrarian lifelines of downstream Pakistan.
Indian policy discourse seeks to cloak accelerated projects on the Chenab, including the colossal Sawalkote endeavour, under the guise of legitimate upper-riparian rights and energy needs. While claiming adherence to run-of-the-river constraints, such literature conveniently ignores the foreseeable consequences: diminished flows, ecological devastation, and an existential threat to food sovereignty for over 250 million people dependent on the Indus irrigation system.
