Pakistan has once again reached India, expressing the desire to address the concerns of New Delhi on the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), which India has placed after the Pahalgam terror attack, The Indian Express Have you learnt.
As Reported by this newspaper On 15 May, Pakistan’s Water Resources Secretary, Syed Ali Murtaza responded to India’s formal communication about the Union Cabinet’s decision to suspend the first treaty. In his letter, he offered to discuss the specific provisions of the treaty, in which India first indicated the readiness to engage on the terms of the treaty formally to mark Islamabad. Even before Operation Sindoor, the outreach came and included the dates suggested to hold talks in May.
Since then, Pakistan is again learned to write the Union Ministry of Water Power to the Union Ministry, which renews its proposal for dialogue. Sources said that at least two additional letters have been received from Pakistan. Operation vermilion,
According to top government sources, India is currently not interested in engaging in a conversation with Pakistan on the issue, and the treaty will continue to stop. Letters, sources said, the Ministry of External Affairs has been referred to.
Many proposals of Pakistan are important to discuss India’s objections, as despite two prior notices from India, then in January 2023 and then in September 2024, demanding an “review and amendment” of IWT – Islamabad did not indicate a desire to be clearly attached. India suspended the treaty with immediate effect after the April 22 terror attack in Pahgam that Pakistan had started insisting on dialogue.
Meanwhile, sources said that the government plans to construct a canal to remove water in various Indian states from the Indus river system. In the first phase, it is expected to cover 130 kilometers in just two years to carry water from Beas River to Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan. The second phase spreading up to 70 km will extend the canal to the Yamuna river, which will provide water to Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
Although the estimated time for the first phase is three years, senior officials said it could be completed in two, with water bends likely to start within two and a half years.
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Sources said that suspension of water flow in Pakistan can cause challenges during the Rabi crop season. A senior government official said, “If the water remains unavailable for more than a month during the Rabi season, it can cause crop damage. Drinking water supply can also be affected. However, Pakistan’s kharif crops may not face much of an issue, as this season matches the monsoon.”
Government sources also said that once the monsoon has decreased, India plans to increase flushing and disillusion operations on its hydroelectric reservoirs on chainb, Jhelum and Indus rivers to increase its storage capacity. An official said, “These reservoirs require a complete dislocation. In some, silt and sediment have become rigid in the rock. At least five percent of the reservoir’s beds have become rocky,” an official said.
As this newspaper told last month, First flushing exercise in Baglihar and Salal-Two run-of-the-Indri Hydroelectric projects of River Hydroelectric Projects on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir were performed after suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. The purpose of the operation was to clean the sediment that was hindering power generation. This first marks such a practice as the Salal project was commissioned in 1987 and Bagliharr in 2008-09. Earlier, Pakistan’s repeated objections under the treaty prevented India from doing these tasks. Starting in early May, the flushing exercise removed the sedes from just 7.5 million cubic meters (MCM) from the reservoirs of 690 MW Salal and 900 MW Baglihar projects.
Sindoor (T) Pahalgam Terror Attack
