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| Indo-Pak Dialogue: For Islamabad, water not Kashmir a core issue | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 30: Sundeep Waslekar and his team members had then made some very startling revelations. One was that Pakistan's per capita water availability had decreased from 5,600 cubic meters in 1947 to just 1,200 cubic meters in 2005 and that by 2007, water availability in Pakistan "might touch the threshold level of 1,000 cubic meters". The same team had pointed out that the "worst affected areas are the Sindh and Punjab provinces".
Sundeep was of the view that Pakistan's fundamental "strategic interest in Kashmir is regulating the flow of water from the catchment area of the Chenab river, which falls in J&K.
The book brought out by the Centre for Peace Initiatives in the month of March 2005, titled The Final Settlement: Restructuring India-Pakistan Relations, clearly suggested in the words of former UNI chief Samuel Baid, that the "search for a final settlement between the two countries must be predicted on the analysis of three essential elements in the bilateral relationship - Fire (use of terrorism as state policy), Water (rivers of J&K)) and Land (an agreed future status of (Jammu and) Kashmir)".
It would be only appropriate to point out here that the scarcity of water and the manner in which the Punjabi-dominated Pakistani establishment and the Army have been dealing with the water affair and managing the water distribution within Pakistan have all the ingredients of provoking not only war between the two countries, but also provoking anti-Punjab protests in Sindh and elsewhere in Pakistan.
This was the assessment of the ICPI and it was what it should be. The book, in particular, said the "Pakistani generals want their land in Punjab to get uninterrupted water supply at the cost of Sindh by upstream division of water from the Indus".
It needs to be underlined that "during summer months, the Indus River is almost dry as it enters Sindh. As a result, there is massive intrusion of the sea destroying farmlands. On the top of it, the building of the Kalabagh Dam and Thal Canal, which, the Sindhis say, will further reduce water flow to their province. The construction of the Kalabagh Dam is opposed both by the Sindhis and the Pushtuns of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The Sindhis have threatened to start a secessionist movement if the government does go ahead with the construction of this dam. The province faces drought in summer and devastating floods during the monsoons…"
Quoting from the findings of the ICPI, Samuel Baid wrote on April 3, 2005 (The Sunday Pioneer): "The Thal Canal is opposed because it is designed to supply additional water to areas in Punjab where Army generals have their farms" and "at the cost of Sindh". Not just this, according to the ICPI, "the Pakistan Government may feel that it needs physical control over the Chenab catchment region in J&K. It needs sites to build dams, to store, divert and regulate water flows".
Whatever the ICPI suggested in March 2005 was correct and to the point. Hence, it was no wonder then that the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharief, resorted to back channel diplomacy with the Indian Government immediately after the elevation of General Musharraf to the status of Army chief. The initiative came from General Musharraf. It was at that point in time that a suggestion was put forth by the Pakistani back channels to the effect that Jammu province be divided along the river Chenab so that a new border was created between India and Pakistan. The objective obviously was to make India to go beyond the confines of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty between the two countries and establish Pakistan's complete control over the Indus waters. The suggestion as made by the Pakistani back channels clearly indicated that Islamabad wanted India to go by the divisive Dixon Plan.
Samuel Baid was absolutely right when he wrote: "To meet Punjab's water needs, Pakistan has been exploiting J&K in two ways. One, the Mangla Dam constructed on the Jhelum in occupied (Jammu and) Kashmir has revolutionized Punjab's agriculture at the cost of PoK. The construction of this dam in 1960 had rendered lakhs of Mirpuris homeless. They hardly received any compensation. PoK does not receive royalty for the power it supplies to Pakistan. Now to meet Punjab's increased water needs, Pakistan has decided to raise the height of the Mangla Dam by 30 feet. This will make more than 40,000 people homeless in Mirpur. Hence bitter protests. Pakistan is also toying with the idea of constructing a dam in Skardu in the Northern Areas. If this dam is constructed, Baltistan will ultimately disappear. Here, too, there are protests".
"Two, Pakistan has been using Kashmiri youth to secure its water interests. Syed Salahuddin, chairman of the PoK-based United Jehad Council (UJC) has often said the Kashmiri youth are actually fighting so that Pakistan can gain control over Kashmir's rivers. PoK President Mohammad Anwar Khan told Urdu newspapers in October 2002, "Kashmiris are fighting for the security, strength and prosperity of Pakistan. Even peace between Punjab and Sindh depends on water and therefore on Kashmir. PoK Prime Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan told a seminar on March 6, 2003: The freedom fighters of Kashmir are in reality fighting for Pakistan's water security and have prevented India from constructing a dam on the Wular Barrage".
What, then, is the conclusion? The conclusion is that Pakistan's aims are two. One, it wants to annex J&K on ideological grounds and dismember India. Two, it also wants to annex J&K in order to meet its water needs and preserve the national integrity of Pakistan. It is an irony that first the BJP walked into the Pakistani trap and agreed to accept the Pakistani line on J&K and now it is the Congress that appears committing the same blunder overlooking all the dangerous ramifications, including the danger of communal riots in the Jammu province. The Muslims in Jammu province constitute a minority. Significantly, the Kashmiri Muslim leadership, which has been speaking on behalf Pakistan, has also not seen through the Pakistani game-plan.
It is hoped that both the BJP and the Congress and the Kashmiri Muslim leadership would take cognizance of the Pakistani evil designs and call its bluff. They would also do well to contribute to the process of Pakistani disintegration and water is the most important weapon in their hands. They should remember that Pakistan is on the brink of ruin and those ruining Pakistan are none other then the people of Punjab, who have all along treated all others in Pakistan with contempt. It is an established fact that Punjab has been exploiting to the hilt these two provinces and treating them as its colonies. (Concluded) |
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