Pakistan has ‘extreme concern’ about ‘variation’ in water flow; seeks ‘clarification’ from India

• New Delhi yet to react to claims by Islamabad

ISTANBUL

Pakistan on Thursday said it had “extreme concern” about “abrupt variations” in the water flow of the Chenab River, part of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), and is seeking “clarification” from India.

“We observed abrupt variations in the flow of River Chenab during the past week (07-15 December), particularly 07 December onwards,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said at a news conference in Islamabad.

“Pakistan views these variations with extreme concern and seriousness. They allude to unilateral release of water into the Chenab River by India, without any prior notification or data, information sharing with Pakistan,” he said, according to a transcript of the news conference.

Andrabi said Pakistan's Indus Water Commissioner has written a letter to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification, in accordance with the procedure enshrined in the IWT, which was unilaterally suspended by New Delhi following an April 22 attack that left 26 people dead at a tourist resort in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi has yet to react to the statement by Islamabad.

"Any manipulation of river flow by India, especially at a critical time of our agriculture cycle, directly threatens the lives and livelihoods as well as food and economic security of our citizens," said Andrabi.

“We call upon India to respond to the queries raised by Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner, refrain from any unilateral manipulations of river flows and fulfill all its obligations in letter and spirit under the IWT provisions," he said. "Pakistan would like to reiterate that the IWT is a binding international agreement which has been an instrument of peace and stability in the region."

Islamabad “remains committed to peaceful resolution of disputes and issues with India, but will not compromise on the existential water rights of its people,” he added.

The IWT is a water-sharing agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960. Pakistan and India shared six rivers' water.

India received the waters of the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, under the agreement, while Pakistan received the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers.