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| Pak interested in water than Kashmiris | | |
Early Times Report
JAMMU, May 24: The interlocutors report submitted that one of the important aspect of Pakistan's Kashmir policy has been to get hold of river waters in J&K.
The interlocutors report says ironically, little attention has been paid both in Jammu and Kashmir and in the rest of the country to the significance of river waters in Pakistan's Kashmir policy. Pakistan's per capita water availability has declined from 5600 cubic meters in 1947 to around 1000 cubic meters till today.
It said country's ground water table is depleting in well over half of the canal commands. So is the water storage capacity due to the heavy silt-load carried by the Indus. That is why it is of the utmost importance for Pakistan to acquire new sources of water in areas where dams can be constructed.
The report says these sources can only be found in the Kashmir Valley and in parts of Jammu. The physical control of the Chenab's basin alone can meet Pakistan's water requirements. It lies at the core of various proposals to resolve the Kashmir issue that Pakistan has floated since 1999 through Track-II diplomacy. New Delhi is justifiably wary of them.
In the meantime, Pakistan is also building dams in Pakistan administered Jammu and Kashmir with Chinese aid, such as the Diamer- Basha dam, that threaten Indian water use and are contested within Gilgit-Baltistan.
The report said the answer to the waters issue therefore does not lie in the abrogation of the Indus Waters Treaty - a demand that is sometimes raised in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the terms of the Treaty, India is duty-bound to comply with certain obligations as an upper riparian State.
Moreover, legally speaking, it is next to impossible to unilaterally abrogate the Treaty. It provides for no exit clause as such. The only way the Treaty can be nullified is if both India and Pakistan agree to do so. This thought has not crossed minds in Pakistan even at the peak of their hostility towards India.
To render the Treaty move effective requires a holistic approach that would address the needs of India and Pakistan and, above all, the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Several proposals to this effect are on the table. They call for an integrated development plan for the conservation of the Indus Basin.
It would take into full account the linkages between water, land, the users, the environment and the infrastructure. It would have to focus on better management of shared water resources. Vast amounts of financial and technical resources would be needed to attain these goals - in addition of course to the political will of all stakeholders. |
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