New Delhi: Since the terror attack in April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 innocent people, the tension between India and Pakistan has escalated massively with the entire world anxiously following the developments between the neighbours. Amid such a situation, Pakistan has accused India of releasing extra water in Jhelum river which has caused sudden floods. As per reports, several media outlets in Pakistan has reported the sudden surge in Jhelum water and New Delhi has been blamed for that.
According to a report by Dunya News, there has been a sudden surge in the water levels of the Jhelum river near Muzaffarabad in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and blamed India for it. Reportedly, Pakistani officials have warned residents to not venture in the river in spate. A new by the Geo TV has cited SDMA Director Saeeq Qureshi saying that Jhelum’s water level has increased by three feet. The report also said melting ice at this time of the year also leads to the increase in water levels in the river and the district administration has warned people to not go in the Jhelum or nearby areas.
The local administration has reportedly declared a water emergency in Hattian Bala, which is around 40 km away from Muzaffarabad on the Jhelum’s banks. The locals have been warned and it has created panic among the residents living near riverbanks. Pakistan’s ARY News has claimed that India released extra water from a dam in Jammu and Kashmir, and as a result, Jhelum’s water level has increased to 22,000 cusecs.
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Violation of international rules: Pakistan
As per reports by Pakistan’s media outlets, the water entered from Kashmir’s Anantnag and rose through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’s Chakothi area. Pakistani authorities have reportedly criticized it and called it a violation of international rules and water agreements. Notably, India has suspend the Indus Waters Treaty as a retaliation to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack. The Indian government has stated that it will keep the treaty suspended till Pakistan “credibly and irreversibly” stops supporting and sponsoring cross-border terrorism. The treaty was signed in 1960 and the World Bank was also a signatory of the pact. The aim of the treaty was to distribute the Indus water and that of its tributaries equally between the two nations.
Interestingly, the agriculture of Pakistan, which forms the backbone of the country’s economy, is heavily dependent on the Indus River system. Almost 90 per cent of the country’s irrigation is dependent on Indus River’s water and any kind of disruption in water supply from Indus River could lead to water scarcity, reduced crop yields, and trigger domestic chaos in Pakistan, especially in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh which are already facing water scarcity.
