Days after placing the Indus Waters Treaty into abeyance to punish Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack, India has curtailed the flow of water through the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River and is planning similar measures at the Kishanganga Dam on the Jhelum River, PTI reported, citing a source.
India has taken several punitive measures against Pakistan following the cold-blooded killings of 26 people – mostly tourists – in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, including downgrading diplomatic ties, banning Pakistani ships from Indian ports and stopping imports.
Pakistan had objected to India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, declaring that any attempt to stop waters flowing into the country would be deemed an act of war.
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The source familiar with the matter told the news agency these hydroelectric dams – Baglihar in Ramban in Jammu and Kishanganga in north Kashmir – offer India the ability to regulate the timing of water releases.
The Baglihar Dam has been a longstanding point of contention between the two neighbours, with Pakistan having sought World Bank arbitration in the past. The Kishanganga Dam has faced legal and diplomatic scrutiny, especially regarding its impact on the Neelum River, a tributary of the Jhelum.
{{/usCountry}}The Baglihar Dam has been a longstanding point of contention between the two neighbours, with Pakistan having sought World Bank arbitration in the past. The Kishanganga Dam has faced legal and diplomatic scrutiny, especially regarding its impact on the Neelum River, a tributary of the Jhelum.
{{/usCountry}}These rivers, which flow from India into Pakistan, are considered the lifelines of the country as it depends on them for irrigation and potable water supply.
India's blazing economic and diplomatic actions over the attack have made Pakistan nervous, as the nation fears that a military strike by New Delhi is imminent.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month declared that New Delhi would find the perpetrators of the terror attack and bring them to justice.
Amid tensions, Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire agreement with India along the Line of Control and the International Border for 10 nights in a row. The Indian Army has responded in equal measure.
Bilawal Bhutto, the former minister of Pakistan, had warned India that blood would flow if the waters of the River Indus were stopped by India.
"I would like to stand here in Sukkur by the Indus and tell India that the Indus is ours and the Indus will remain ours, whether water flows in this Indus or their blood," he had said.