India’s sharp reduction of water flow through the Chenab River — reportedly in response to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 — has sparked serious concerns in Pakistan, which fears devastating agricultural consequences.
Following India’s suspension of key provisions under the Indus Waters Treaty, Islamabad claims the water supply from India has dropped by nearly 90%, threatening crop production during the crucial early Kharif season.
“It’s unprecedented,” said Muhammad Khalid Idrees Rana, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Indus River System Authority (IRSA), in a statement to Bloomberg. “If the current flow reduction persists, we will have to reduce water supply to farms by up to 20%.”
Indian authorities, according to ANI, have closed all gates of both the Baglihar and Salal dams on the Chenab. Though a minimal amount of water is being released from a single gate at each to protect aquatic life, the restriction is expected to severely impact irrigation-dependent agriculture in Pakistan.
The IRSA advisory panel echoed the urgency, warning that “sudden decrease in river Chenab inflows at Marala due to short supply by India would result in more shortages in the Early Kharif Season.”
The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the division of rivers between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, is now at the heart of an escalating diplomatic standoff. Pakistan has declared that any deliberate disruption of water supply under the treaty would be considered “an act of war.”
