Indian minister boasts of utilizing Chenab, other rivers for India’s benefit
Jammu: Manohar Lal Khattar, India’s Power Minister, stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conveyed a “clear message” to Pakistan that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) had been put in abeyance, and Pakistan’s objections over hydropower projects would no longer be entertained.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Khattar, who was on a two-day visit to Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir for inspection of power projects in Reasi, Kishtwar, and Ramban districts, said this while responding to media queries in Kishtwar about Pakistan’s objections to different hydro-electric projects in the territory.
He claimed India would use the waters of the Chenab and other rivers as per its own interests, including for power generation and irrigation, dismissing Pakistan’s concerns.
However, analysts strongly reject India’s assertion, pointing out that the IWT is a binding international agreement brokered by the World Bank, which acts as its guarantor, and cannot be unilaterally suspended. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has already ruled that India cannot unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance. The treaty remains fully in force under international law, and India’s move is considered a blatant violation of international law, threatening regional peace and water security.
The analysts warned that India has no legal or moral right to take unilateral decisions regarding rivers flowing from the disputed territoyr without Pakistan’s consent. Observers said New Delhi’s rigidity, hostility and hate-driven politics are pushing the region toward instability and could even lead to conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
