Water the lifeline of National Existence
0 comments | by General Mirza Aslam Beg
Indian ‘water hegemony plans’ seriously threaten Pakistan’s economy and agriculture. On 27 February 2012, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the government to implement the 2002 project to link major rivers in India, ‘in a time-bound manner’. The over $100 billion project will link around 30 rivers. The project is split into the Himalayan component, with 14 linkages and the peninsular component, with 16 linkages. It is the Himalayan component which will dry-up the rivers flowing into Pakistan. India, continues building 300 small and major dams, linking the rivers to contain Pakistan’s water share, has allocated $212 billion for turning the water courses of Chenab, Jhelum and Indus from North to South. These include 24 projects on River Chenab, 52 on River Jhelum and 18 on River Indus. Thus India will deprive Pakistan of its share of water and establish Indian water hegemony – an all-encompassing strategy to ruin Pakistan’s agriculture affecting seven million acres of fertile land. According to articles 3, 4 and 7 of Indus Water Treaty, India could not construct water reservoirs, over western rivers of Chenab, Jhelum and Sindh nor could it divert the catchment areas of tributary canals of these rivers. New Delhi is also bound to notify Pakistan in advance about the water schemes but so far it has failed to do so.
The writer is a former Army Chief of Pakistan