Pakistan on Thursday said India was not permitted to misuse its restricted allowance of water from the western rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty, amid reports of New Delhi approving a new hydropower project on the Chenab River.
Foreign office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi made the remarks at the weekly press briefing while responding to a question on India’s approval of the 260-megawatt Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project in Kashmir.
“We have seen these media reports regarding Indian plans to construct the Dulhasti Stage-II hydroelectric [project] on the Chenab River. Obviously, these reports raise serious concerns as no prior information or notification was shared with Pakistan with regard to this project,” Andrabi said.
He said Pakistan had sought information from India regarding the reported projects it was planning to undertake.
“The Pakistani commissioner for Indus water has sought clarification from his counterpart in India regarding the nature, scope and technical details of the reported projects, and he also wishes to ascertain whether this constitutes a new run-of-the-river project, an alteration or additional work on an existing plant,” the spokesperson said.
Andrabi noted that under the Indus Waters Treaty, India could not misuse its “restricted allowance” to unilaterally build any hydroelectric projects on the western rivers.
He said any project on a western river was subject to strict design and operational controls, along with mandatory information sharing with Pakistan.
Reiterating that the Indus Waters Treaty remained a binding international agreement, Andrabi said Pakistan was committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes with India but would “never compromise on our existential water rights”.
India had taken a series of punitive measures against Pakistan a day after the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, including putting the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in “abeyance”.
The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, has governed the distribution and use of the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960.