A national assembly panel was told on Wednesday that although the Pakistan Commission on Indus Waters (PCIW) is tasked with engaging New Delhi on cross -border water issues, the dialogue table has remained empty in the last two years because of India’s reluctance to reach the negotiating table.

Na-aside Committee on Water Resources, President of Ahmad Ateeq Anwar, convened an in-depth briefing on the country’s central hydropower projects and the growing load caused by India’s repeated ignoring treaty obligations.

The Federal Minister of Water Resources Mian Muhammad Muneer Wattoo, Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza, Wapda President Lt Gen (Retd) Sajjad Ghani, Former Wapda -Chairman Shakil Durrani and Pakistan’s Indus -Water Commissioner Syed Mehr Ali Shah was at Stede.

The agenda included updates about the projects under construction DASU and Mohmand Dam together with the status of the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower project.

By tacking the panel noticing the secretary of the water resource that although PCIW has the brief to initiate conversations with India about shared water resources, there has been radio sets from the entire border.

“The Indus Waters Treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally,” confirmed the secretary, adding that “we will take India’s violation to international arbitration and other global forums.”

He claimed that Pakistan has full rights over the three Western rivers during the Treaty, while India may only use a limited quantity for domestic and agricultural purposes and generate hydropower without changing the river flow.

“India cannot divert the flow of rivers,” he added.

Committee Chair Ahmad Atiq Anwar instructed the committee to be informed of six channel projects that responded to a request from Dawar Kundi.

Minister Wattoo added, “Every time the committee wants it, we will arrange a visit to the DASU Dam site and easy meetings with affected communities.”

Wattoo called for discussions about India’s water aggression and violations of the Indus Waters Treaty and noted that the Council for Common Interest (CCI) had already solved some of the problems.

In his briefing, WAPDA chairman LT Gen (RETD) revealed Sajjad Ghani that Pakistan receives 140 million acre feet (MAF) water annually, but it can only store 13 MAF due to silence. “The country has the capacity to store up to 20 maf, but due to silt, the current usable storage is limited to 13 maf,” he noted.

He further explained that silt cannot simply be released as it would damage the barriers. “Damage to the barriers could have a serious impact on the agricultural sector,” he warned.