Jerusalem, Sep 26 (IANS) While Pakistan’s agricultural economy and irrigation system remain heavily dependent on the Indus River, its deepening water crisis reflects serious failures in domestic management, a report has stated.
Although the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) survived wars and repeated crisis for decades, six decades have transformed the region dramatically. India’s economy and energy requirements have grown, Jammu and Kashmir has undergone significant political and developmental changes, while Pakistan’s own water crisis has become increasingly difficult to attribute simply to upstream factors, Zahack Tanvir, founder and editor of British media outlet ‘Milli Chronicle’, wrote in ‘The Times of Israel’.
India’s move to place the IWT in abeyance following the heinous 2025 Pahalgam terror attack by Pakistan-backed terrorists, he said, needs to be understood in the broader context of its security, developmental and water priorities.
Citing World Bank findings, Tanvir said that groundwater depletion, waterlogging, salinity and contamination were documented across Pakistan, with Sindh province facing some of the most acute crisis.
“These are not problems created by an Indian dam. They reflect weaknesses within Pakistan’s own water system,” he stated.
Referring to a conference organised in Geneva recently, he said speakers including activists Arif Aajakia, Mamun Rahman and Lakhu Luvana highlighted longstanding concerns over water and natural resources in Sindh and Balochistan.
“That raises an important question for Islamabad: if water is a human-rights issue, as the United Nations has recognized, what happens to the rights of communities after the water reaches Pakistan?India cannot reasonably be held responsible for every failure of Pakistan’s internal water governance,” Tanvir noted.
The report further argued that India must fully utilise its legitimate water and energy potential and invest in hydropower, storage and modern water infrastructure under the Indus Water Treaty wherever technically and legally feasible. Decades of diplomatic caution, it stressed, should not be allowed to turn into a permanent developmental disadvantage.
According to the report, the broader lesson is clear: a transboundary agreement cannot remain anchored in 1960 while the strategic, demographic and environmental realities surrounding it continue to evolve
“The next chapter should not be about preserving an old arrangement simply because it has endured. It should be about creating a modern framework that recognizes India’s legitimate development needs alongside Pakistan’s downstream interests and the rights of communities on both sides. India does not need to apologize for developing its rivers. Its water, energy, and development interests are legitimate national interests — not concessions that require Pakistan’s permission,” it noted.
–IANS
scor/as
