Cry Harder, Pakistan! Islamabad Rues Chenab Water Flow Variation But India Unlikely To Oblige – Here’s Why | India News

Since the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan has been trying to persuade India to rejoin the treaty. But India has made it clear: Terrorism and negotiations cannot go together. Pakistan’s major share of agricultural production depends on the Indus River system, and with India suspending the agreement, Pakistan has been faced with unbalanced water flows.

Pakistan on Thursday expressed concern over the change in the flow of the Chenab River and said it had sent a letter to India seeking clarification on the issue. Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi pointed out the “sudden change” in the flow of the Chenab River.

“Our Indus water commissioner has written a letter to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification of the issues in accordance with the procedures contained in the Indus Waters Treaty… Any manipulation of India’s river flow, especially at a critical time in our agricultural cycle, directly threatens the life and livelihood of our citizens, as well as their food and economic security… We call on India to respond to the questions raised by Pakistan’s Indus water commissioner, to refrain from any unilateral manipulation of the river flow and to fulfill its own obligations. “We are fulfilling written and moral obligations under the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty,” he said.

However, Pakistan may continue to cry more about the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. Meanwhile, India is looking for ways to better utilize its river system. In October, an expert panel of the Ministry of Environment approved granting environmental clearance to the proposed Sawalkot hydropower project on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district. The Sawalkot project, with a planned capacity of 1,856 MW, is a major hydropower development project on the Chenab, one of the western rivers along with the Indus and Jhelum. Although these rivers flow uncontrollably into Pakistan, India has the right to use their waters for non-consumptive activities such as hydroelectric power generation.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, Pakistan was given extreme advantages and rights over the waters of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers. India now wants to correct past mistakes. India suspended the IWT immediately after the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 tourists were killed when Pakistan-backed terrorists shot them at close range.

Redirecting the fee share of water will help promote agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir. Equipped with water storage facilities, the project will enable India to better benefit from its allocated share of river waters. Currently, the country does not have the infrastructure to store even 3.6 million acre feet (MAF) of water in its western rivers, the volume allowed under the Indus Waters Treaty. Similarly, India has so far developed only about 3,482 MW of hydropower capacity on these rivers despite an estimated generation potential of around 20,000 MW.

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty is another moment of introspection for Pakistan to shut down its terror factory, hand over wanted terrorists to India and then initiate talks to establish peace in the region.

India’s stance underscores a decisive strategic shift in India’s approach to the Indus basin; an approach that prioritizes sovereign rights, regional development and long-term water security over unilateral concessions. By accelerating hydropower projects like Sawalkot and optimizing the legally permissible share of river waters in the west, India is signaling that deals cannot exist apart from hard realities, especially persistent cross-border terrorism.

For Pakistan, the message is clear: meaningful engagement with shared resources will remain untenable unless it addresses India’s core security concerns. Until then, New Delhi appears determined to redress historical imbalances, strengthen Jammu and Kashmir’s economic prospects, and strengthen water diplomacy as both a development and strategic tool.