India disrupting Indus Water flows: Musadik Malik
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Malik accused India of using dams to disrupt the flow of the Indus River system reported Bloomberg on Tuesday.
'India is manipulating the flow of rivers that run into Pakistan by holding and releasing, holding and then flooding,' he was quoted as saying during an interview with Bloomberg.
The minister added how India lacks the storage capacity to completely stop the water, noting that when the water was needed for crop sowing, 'it was not available' over the past month.
He also said their neighbour was doing this 'to disturb crop patterns and the food security of Pakistan'.
Following the April 22 attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered officials to expedite planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers, three bodies of water in the Indus system that are designated primarily for Pakistan's use, reported Reuters.
About 80% of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.
Any efforts by Delhi to build dams, canals or other infrastructure that would withhold or divert significant amount of flow from the Indus system to India 'would take years to realise,' said water security expert David Michel of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
There will be no compromise on water, says Bilawal
Meanwhile, in the interview, Malik added, 'Because they don't have storage dams, they have not been able to materially affect us.'
'If they start to build storage dams, it would be deemed as an act of war,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Trump cuts India down to size
This is apropos a letter to the Editor titled 'India's water belligerence' carried by the newspaper yesterday. In my view the writer is spot on as it is increasingly evident that India's has been trying to overcome the shock that it has received in the four-day conflict at the hands of Pakistan last month. No doubt, the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan's Field Marshal and army chief Asim Munir has spooked the Indian government so much so that its ministers are now making more irresponsible statements against Pakistan than before. It is important to note that now Pakistan has announced its formal decision to recommend US President Donald Trump for 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, praising his 'decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership' during the recent four-day war between Pakistan and India. In a statement posted on X, the government highlighted Trump's pivotal role in helping to de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations. The post carried the headline: 'Government of Pakistan Recommends President Donald J Trump for 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.' How ironic it is from India's perspective that prime minister Narendra Modi's so-called 'close friend' President Trump is now being assailed by Godi media for inflicting a blow on India's nefarious designs of becoming the regional hegemon. Be that as it may, Trump deserves praise for cutting India down to size in an effective and meaningful manner. Sana Adeel (Karachi) Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Kashmir: a major escalation hotspot
EDITORIAL: The 2025 Global Peace Index designates Kashmir as one of the world's foremost escalation hotspots where tensions between India and Pakistan remain 'perilously high' — a sobering assessment shared by independent political and defence analysts. The Index put out by Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace explains that the situation in Kashmir exemplifies the fragility of ceasefire agreements in volatile geographic settings and underscores the dangers posed by non-state actors capable of triggering international crises. Such a danger, however, can also arise from suspected false flag operations, like the 2019 Pulwama attack on a convoy of Indian security personnel in the illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), and last April's Pahalgam terrorist attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government used both incidents to launch military misadventures inside Pakistan only to face a punishing retaliation. The four-day May 7-10 conflict between the two countries was their deadliest in decades, brought to a halt by a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump. The Kashmir dispute, rooted in the unfinished agenda of Partition, has sparked three wars between Pakistan and India as well as limited skirmishes over the Line of Control in the disputed region. The Modi government's decision in August of 2019 to revoke Article 370 of the Indian constitution, — which granted limited autonomy to IIOJ&K — led to bifurcation of the disputed region into two entities, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — over much of which China has territorial claims — and made Union territories. PM Modi's critics at home, including the main opposition Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi, have been accusing his government of creating a common interest for Pakistan and China in wresting back Kashmir from India. In any case, the risk of escalation between the two nuclear-armed nations carries grave implications. Even a conventional conflict, as seen last May, holds the potential of rapidly spiralling into a serious crisis. Discomfited by the outcome, Modi refuses to even acknowledge that the US played any role in defusing tensions in the latest stand-off with Pakistan. This hardline stance resonates with his far-right Hindu nationalist support base, but leaves little room for constructive diplomacy. It is more than obvious that PM Modi feels let down by President Trump's persistent assertions that he had helped bring about ceasefire between the two countries at India's request. At the risk of annoying him, New Delhi has denied having made any such request. Modi also passed on President Trump's invitation to stopover in Washington on way back from the G7 Summit in Canada, on the pretext of some pressing business at home. Yet as the Global Peace Index indicates, without some sort of diplomatic engagement the chance of miscalculation or inadvertent escalation will only grow. Reinstating dialogue mechanisms, whether backchannel or bilateral, is essential for establishing durable peace and stability in South Asia. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Threat of wider war in ME is real: Asif
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Sunday said that Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with neighbouring Iran in the face of Israel's unprovoked and unjustified aggression. Talking to a private news channel, he said that Pakistan condemns the attacks carried out by Israel and is gravely concerned about the potential for further escalation in the region. 'The threat of a wider war in the Middle East is real,' he warned, calling for an immediate end to the hostilities. He stated that the recent crisis has revitalized Pakistan-Iran relations, with brotherly ties growing stronger. 'Our bilateral relationship has deepened further in the face of regional challenges,' he added. Offering his analysis on the situation, he said, 'Israel's existence poses a continuous threat to regional peace. The concept of peace with Israel is inherently contradictory.' He asserted that Israel's so-called invincibility has been badly exposed. 'The spirits of the people of Gaza remains unshaken like rock solid.' He emphasized that Israel must abandon the illusion that bombing Muslim populations will crush their willpower. 'That is not going to happen,' he said. Commenting on India's stance, he noted that India believed its international influence was substantial, but its rejection of US mediation reflects a weakness in global diplomacy. He further added that the illusion of Indian military and diplomatic supremacy had faded. 'Their myths have collapsed.'
