Even if India blocked water to Pakistan, it would require significant infrastructure: Pak researcher

A Pakistani researcher during an interactive seminar on the Pakistan-India conflict on Sunday said that even if India blocked water under the Indus Waters Treaty, it would require significant infrastructure that would take years to build and also billions of dollars. In the wake of the horrific April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 civilians were killed, India had decided that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 would be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.

The seminar held by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) saw research papers being read out on the Pakistan-India conflict.

Researcher Mohammad Usman said that if India were to stop the water flow to Pakistan, it would risk flooding its own upper regions. “But if they stopped our water during the dry seasons, it could be a concern for us because the flow of water is lower and storage matters the most. It can affect our farmers, which could result in lower yields,” Usman said.

The researcher said that even if India blocked water, it would require significant infrastructure that would take years to build and also billions of dollars.

He said in the case of Pakistan and India, Pakistan is the lower riparian state and India the upper riparian state. But in the case of China and India, China is the upper riparian state and India the lower riparian state. “This is especially true in Brahmaputra where China can also block India’s water,” he pointed out. PIIA chairperson Dr Masuma Hasan underscored the need to hear different voices, especially the voices of the youth, regarding the recent conflict.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives.

India carried out precision strikes as part of Operation Sindoor on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7.

It was followed by Pakistan’s attempt to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.