The Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on 19 September 1960 under the mediation of the World Bank, according to which Pakistan would use 80% of the water of Indus and its tributaries while India would use only 20% of the water.
The distribution of the water of Indus and its tributaries between India and Pakistan will be done as per the Indus Water Treaty.
According to this treaty, Pakistan will use the water of Jhelum, Chenab and Indus rivers while India will have only limited rights over these rivers such as India can create limited storage for its domestic irrigation. It can build power plants of small strength and will not hold much water.
According to the Indus Water Treaty, India can claim the water of the rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej and can have full rights over them.
In view of the provocative attack by Pakistan in Pahalgam of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian government has suspended the treaty signed in 1960 in 2025, that is, this step has been taken by the Indian government after almost 65 years.
About 93% of the water of the rivers under the Indus Water Treaty is used by Pakistan for irrigation purposes, which is about 24% of its GDP.
If India suspends the Indus Water Treaty and stops the water going to Pakistan, then Pakistan will suffer a lot because the water Pakistan gets through Jhelum Chenab and Indus rivers is more than 2.5 times the water India gets from Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
According to the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan receives about 99 billion cubic metric water of the Western Rivers i.e. Jhelum, Chenab and Indus River while India receives only 41 billion cubic metric water of the Eastern Rivers i.e. Ravi, Beas and Sutlej River. Here one billion cubic meters is approximately equal to 1 trillion liters.
Pakistan uses the water obtained from these rivers for irrigation as well as for power supply to its major cities like Peshawar,Islamabad,Muzaffarabad, Lahore and Abbottabad.
What measures were taken to stop the water of Indus River?
India has not built any large level water storage on the Western River i.e. Jhelum, Chenab and Indus so that water can be completely controlled.
One reason for this is that maximum hydroelectric power plants have been built on these rivers and electricity is produced from these power plants in which the natural flow of the river is used.
That is why India has probably not built large scale power plants on these rivers. The second reason for this is that collecting too much water in this region can lead to flood problems in the area.
For example, when the Indian government opened the water of Salal Dam on 22 April, there was a flood problem in the districts of Jammu and Kashmir due to heavy rains at that time.
And due to melting of snow in the coming monsoon season, collecting too much water in this area can lead to flood problems in the region.
India has focused on some infrastructure to stop the water of eastern rivers i.e. Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. India has built the Shahpurkandi Dam on the Ravi River in Pathankot district of Punjab, which was delayed for about 45 years.
Another Ranjit Sagar dam has also been built on the Ravi river, which became operational in 2001. In Himachal Pradesh, Bhakra and Nangal dams have been built on the Sutlej river while Pong and Pandoh dams have been built on the Beas river.
Apart from this, a canal named Beas Sutlej Link has also been built which will divert the water of Rabi into Beas River.
To stop Pakistan’s water, India will have to build some big dams and hydroelectric power plants on the Western River i.e. Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. To stop the water flowing to Pakistan, India needs to build 22 such dams similar to Bhakra Nangal Dam.
China has the Three George Dam whose storage capacity is 8 million cubic metric, so India will also have to build some similar dams, only then India can stop the water of the Western River.
According to a government data, about 136 million acre feet of water overflows from the Western River every year. Here, I will explain to you by taking an example that about 1 million acre feet of water can be used to irrigate 10 lakh acres of land.
So, if all the water going to Pakistan is stopped, then the entire Jammu and Kashmir can be irrigated, whose area is about 42241 square kilometers.
What could be the consequences of the suspension of this treaty?
Before knowing the long term results, we should know some important facts about Indus Water Treaty:-
- No expiry date was fixed in this treaty negotiated by the World Bank. No clause was added in this treaty so that India or Pakistan could exit from it.
- If some change or modification is to be made in this treaty then it can be possible only through mutual understanding between the two countries.
- Indus Water Treaty was considered the world’s most successful treaty but after 65 years it has been shattered in reality.
After the suspension of this treaty, the articles related to it have also been suspended, for example, India used to share data with Pakistan and according to that data, Pakistan used to control the water coming from Indus and its tributaries.
Some experts in India say that instead of harming Pakistan by stopping the water of Indus and its tributaries or by suddenly releasing it into Pakistan, India can get rid of the problem of floods and droughts in Punjab and other states of India by diverting these waters.
Now if this data is not shared by India and water is suddenly released, then there can be a huge flood in the region of Pakistan.
Indus river is one of the major rivers of Asia and is also the largest river of Pakistan. About 80% of the population of Pakistan depends on Indus and its tributaries. With this water, Pakistan not only does agriculture but also provides electricity to major cities and this water contributes 25% to Pakistan’s economy.