India violating Indus Water Treaty, says Pak citing US report

Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said in a statement that the US report "Avoiding water wars in South and Central Asia," released on February 22, acknowledges that dams India is building in Jammu and Kashmir "will limit supply of water to Pakistan at crucial moments."

She said the report "only substantiates Pakistan's concerns at the building of dams by India on the western rivers in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty." Janjua quoted the report, released by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, as saying that "studies show that no single dam along the waters controlled by the Indus Waters Treaty will affect Pakistan's access to water, (but) the cumulative effect of these projects could give India the ability to store enough water to limit the supply to Pakistan at crucial moments in the growing season."

Pakistan has conveyed its concerns to India through the Office of the Permanent Indus Commission on "various projects being built by India which the Pakistan Indus Commission considers are not in conformity with the terms of the treaty," Janjua said.

"These concerns are required to be addressed in a sincere, forthwith and result-oriented manner," she said. Differences over sharing river waters have emerged as a major irritant in ties between India and Pakistan over the past few years.

Islamabad has alleged that its share of waters are being diverted by dams in Jammu and Kashmir though New Delhi has denied the charge and said the levels of rivers have fallen due to climate change.

Janjua also told the media that the implementation of Indus Waters Treaty in letter and spirit is the best solution for water disputes between India and Pakistan. She rejected the impression that the agreement signed in 1960 was at risk.

Describing the pact as a "useful and proactive document," she said Pakistan is in dire need of water for meeting its irrigation and energy demands. Tension over water disputes with India has been rife since the construction of dams in Jammu and Kashmir, a move considered by Pakistani authorities as a violation of the agreement, she said.