‘It will inflame tensions in a bilateral relationship already fraught with hostility and mistrust’
Senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader and Senator Sherry Rehman on Monday criticized India’s reported approval of a new hydropower project on the Chenab River, warning that “the weaponization of water was neither sensible nor acceptable” and accusing New Delhi of violating the Indus Waters Treaty.
Reacting on social media platform X, Rehman said the Indian approval of the Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project was a flagrant breach of international obligations.
“In flagrant violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), India has just given approval to the Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab River in India’s illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).”
She said the treaty framework could not be changed unilaterally. “Under the IWT, which cannot be revoked unilaterally, as recent UN rapporteurs have confirmed, Pakistan has control over the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers, while the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers fall under India’s control,” she said.
Rehman warned that India’s latest move signaled a broader strategy following what she described as the illegal suspension of the treaty.
“Following the illegal suspension of the treaty, India has decided to expedite several controversial hydropower projects in the Indus basin. These projects include Sawalkot, Ratle, Bursar, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru and Kirthai-1 and 2. Dulhasti Stage-II is considered as part of this strategy,” she said.
She warned that such actions had serious regional consequences.
“This weaponization of water is neither sensible nor acceptable in a region on the front lines of climate change and environmental stress. It will inflame tensions in a bilateral relationship already fraught with hostility and mistrust,” she said.
