Indian water aggression condemned

Senator, Syed Javed Ali Shah of PML-Q, Senator Malik Salahuddin Dogar of PPP, Rana Mehmood-ul-Hassan MNA, Chairman of NA's Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping, Begum Memona Hashmi, Begum Nasim Chaudhry, Nawab Liaquat Ali have strongly criticised India for constructing dams on Chenab, and digging a tunnel at Siachen to divert the flow of Indus water towards India and other rivers providing water to Pakistan, as the actions were causing deficiency of water in Pakistan, which could result in a drought situation.
In their separate statements issued here on Saturday, they said that India was constructing Baghlihar and Kishan Ganga dams as well as the Wullar Barrage on the rivers in violation of the Indus Water Treaty, 1960. They warned that Indian actions could trigger war between the two South Asian countries. "It is water terrorism. India wants to make Pakistan barren," they said.
Makhdoom Javed Hashmi of PML-N said that India had declared water war against Pakistan from the eastern and western fronts. He said, on the one hand, India was building dams on the River Chenab, while on the other hand, it was working with Afghan government to stop flow of water from the River Kabul to Pakistan. He said that Indian water aggression was costing 3,900 megawatts of electricity to Pakistan, and loss worth $12 billion to the agriculture sector.
Hashmi said India was cultivating its lands on the expense of Pakistan's agricultural lands, for which the government of Pakistan should be compensated. "The government should use aggressive diplomacy to get this claim reimbursed and get India to stop its hydropower blocks," he added. The PML-N legislator said that like Indus Water Treaty the inter-provincial water accord of 1991 should also be respected.
Southern Punjab MNAs and Senators said that India had constructed a 28-mile long tunnel in the Kargil area to get water from the Indus River, which was also a clear violation of the Indus Water Treaty. They urged the government to take effective measures to stop India from these illegal actions, and to claim penalty against the damages. They also called upon the government to launch a comprehensive diplomatic campaign to stop India from causing damages to Pakistan.