Pakistan Water Front Convenor Shahzad Ali Malik has said the Kishenganga Hydroelectric Project (KHP) initiated by India poses a threat to the Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Project because India has planned to divert the River Jhelum water through Wullar Barrage. India has planned 86 projects at a cost of Indian Rs 240 billion on Pakistani rivers including Chenab, Jhelum and Indus.
Almost 19 projects have been completed, he said in a media briefing on water issue between India and Pakistan, here on Thursday. The briefing was organised by the Pakistan Water Front, an organisation working under Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
He said the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had disclosed about the projects at the inaugural ceremony of Baglihar Dam. Malik warned that all the chambers of commerce and industries and the trade bodies would not support any peace deal with the Indian government until and unless the water issue between the two countries was resolved.
According to details, India has so far completed a number of hydroelectric (H/E) projects on Pakistani rivers. The projects planned on River Chenab include Slal Project of 690 MW at 45-mile upper-side Marala Barrage, Dul-Hasti H/E Plant of 780 MW near Kishtwar, Baglihar H/E Plant of 450 MW at about 147-kilometer upper-side of Marala Headworks, Rajouri H/E Plant, Killer H/E Plant, Thirot H/E Plant, Shansha H/E Plant, Billing H/E Plant, Sissu H/E Plant, Chinani H/E Plant and Bhadarwah H/E Plant.
Similarly, the projects planned on River Jhelum include Asthan H/E Plant, Bandipur H/E Plant, Dachhigam H/E Plant, Karan H/E Plant, Lower Jhelum H/E Plant, Matchi H/E Plant, Pahalgam H/E Plant, Poonch H/E Plant, Sambal H/E Plant, Upper Sind H/E Plant and Uri H/E Plant. The projects on the River Indus include Kargil/Iqbal MHP, Sumoor, Hunder, Bazgo HEP, Stakna, Igo-Marcelong, Marpachoo, Haftal MHP, Sanjak MHP, Nimo Bazgo HEP and Chutak HEP.
LCCI President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhary said the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) advised the Indian government to strangulate Pakistan economically by using water as a weapon. To counter the FICCI nefarious design, the LCCI has formed Pakistan Water Front to mobilise the domestic and international opinion on the rights that Pakistan enjoys through internationally guaranteed Indus Water Treaty. "We have also planned to take standing committees of the assemblies and 125 trade bodies including the chambers of commerce and industry on board to deal with the issue," he added.
The LCCI President said the FICCI in its detailed advisory report on Pakistan had advised its government to use all means to control Pakistan including surprise military strikes, denial of air space rights to Pakistani aircraft and stopping river water from going into Pakistan by building dams.
Chaudhry distributed the FICCI report to the media and informed them that it was downloaded from FICCI website but after uproar in Pakistan it has now been removed from the internet. He said the report forced the LCCI to do research on the Indian designs and it was found that India was building water reservoirs over river Jhelum, Chenab and Indus many of which were operative and over a 100 projects were at various stages of construction. He said most of these projects were in violation of Indus Water Treaty and need to be checked immediately. He said the international pressure on India should be intensified to force it to stop building these projects.
The LCCI would give a presentation on the water issue to Bangladesh in next month followed by China because both the countries are also victim of Indian aggression. "We would take both the countries on board to evolve joint strategy to counter Indian evil designs through which it wants to convert the neighbouring countries into land barren," he added. To develop pressure on India, the LCCI was also planning to organise similar presentation before international organisations including the World Bank who is guarantor of Indus Water Treaty, he maintained.
The LCCI President said that after seeing the designs of the Indian businessmen the trade talks with India should be stopped forthwith. According to LCCI Pakistan is on the brink of mass starvation as the process to turn it into a desert had begun because of a drastic cut in water availability from 5,000 cubic meters per capita in 1950s to 1000 cubic meter in 2010 despite the fact that water availability per capita ranks last amongst Asian countries and Pakistan experiencing severe water shortage.
Without water 20 million acres of fertile land would dry up in a week and tens of millions of people would starve. No army, with bombs and shellfire could devastate Pakistan as India could devastate it by cutting off river flows.
India is building a huge storage capability (National River Linking Project) with a cost of US $120 billion to be completed by 2016 with features to diversion of 178 cubic KM water from north to south, including 3,000 storage reservoirs, 14,000 KM of canals, resulting in conflicts with neighbouring countries including China, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Chairman Muttahida Kissan Mahaz Ayub Mayo has said Mahaz is going to organise protest on zero line at Barki border against India for its water aggression. A large number of farmers would take part in the protest, he said. Federal Minister Sultan Ali Chaudhry also spoke on the occasion and threw light on a number of technical aspects of the issue.