Nailing Pakistan’s lies on Indus water sharing
Reassessing Pakistan’s Claims on the Indus Waters Treaty
Bharatmorningnews.com – Following a devastating terror assault in Pahalgam, Kashmir, during April 2025 that claimed 26 lives, India declared it would suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. This decision came alongside substantial proof linking Pakistan to the violence. The treaty itself represents a landmark accord between the two nations, originally concluded in Karachi on September 19, 1960.
Historical Context and Treaty Framework
The agreement divides the river systems into two categories. The Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab constitute the western rivers, while the Ravi, Beas, and Satluj form the eastern rivers. Several major tributaries of the Indus system begin their journey within Indian territory, including the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Ghaggar.
At the time of Partition, East Punjab retained merely 12 of the 143 canals that existed in undivided Punjab. The more lucrative schemes and technically viable projects remained located in West Punjab. Meanwhile, East Punjab faced developmental challenges because the rivers lay far from much of its territory.
West Punjab initiated an arrangement on December 20, 1947, proposing that both regions maintain the existing conditions regarding the Upper Bari Doab Canal and Ferozepur Headworks through March 31, 1948. West Punjab failed to take any action before that deadline to pursue additional negotiations. Consequently, East Punjab ceased utilizing its installations to support the Central Bari Doab Canal on April 1, 1948. These two canal systems served only 6 percent of Pakistan’s total irrigated land.
The False Narrative Takes Shape
Pakistan quickly propagated an inaccurate account claiming India stopped water flow to all six rivers on April 1, 1948. This claim gained traction when M Zafrulla Khan, Pakistan’s UN Security Council representative, made a formal statement on December 16, 1952:
On 1 April, 1948, … India turned off the waters of these rivers which used to flow into Pakistan
Khan failed to address how India could possibly halt the flow of six major rivers, nor did anyone question India’s ability to channel or store such vast quantities of water for six weeks. During the nine months separating Independence from March 31, 1948, India constructed nothing on these rivers that could regulate their waters. Through this omission, Khan successfully misled both the Security Council and global observers, establishing the foundation for the IWT’s creation.
Water Distribution Disparities
Under the treaty terms, India gained exclusive rights to the eastern rivers, totaling approximately 33 million acre feet. Pakistan secured access to the western rivers, receiving between 135 and 140 million acre feet. The distribution appears remarkably skewed. India receives roughly 19.6 percent of the water despite possessing nearly double that proportion of the catchment area. Conversely, Pakistan obtains about 81 percent of the water while controlling a considerably smaller catchment region.
Demographic data from the 1941 census reveals another imbalance. Pakistan housed 25 million dependent people, representing 54 percent of the total, while India contained 21 million, or 46 percent. Yet the water allocation remained so unevenly distributed under the treaty provisions.
Ongoing Challenges and Modern Narratives
The post-Partition arrangement created lasting disruptions to India’s agricultural supply chains. Water scarcity persists today across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, forcing greater dependence on groundwater extraction.
Pakistan continues advancing misleading claims while ignoring both hydrological facts and standard operational procedures for run-of-the-river hydropower installations. The country has leveraged numerous international venues to promote its position. During a Brussels policy seminar co-hosted by the Centre for European Policy Studies and Pakistan’s EU diplomatic mission, transboundary water was characterized as a “weaponised global common.” Additionally, an Islamabad conference on June 30 titled “The Indus Waters Treaty: An Instrument of Peace and Regional Stability” drew comparisons between the Indus River and vital maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.
Regional tensions have escalated further. A Pakistani minister allegedly warned of severing hands belonging to anyone building diversion structures on the western rivers. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir delivered direct military and nuclear warnings to India during an address to the Pakistani diaspora in Tampa, Florida. Munir declared that Pakistan would deploy missile strikes against any future Indian dams constructed within the Indus River basin. Such provocative statements tend to intensify public sentiment rather than resolve disputes.
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