March 20, 2013 .

According to a private Indian TV channel, a resolution declaring that India has the sole right to the use of River Chenab is under preparation and would soon be presented before Lok Sabha for approval. This is a most alarming development, which carries the awesome foreboding of a water war between the two subcontinental nuclear powers. Not only would the resolution constitute a blatant violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), but also a most egregious folly winding up the gains the strenuous efforts have made in improving Pak-India relations. Pakistan has, for some time, been experiencing India’s water terrorism through the construction of dams and water diversion projects in the upper reaches of rivers located in the part of Kashmir illegally occupied by it and assigned to Pakistan under the IWT. As a consequence, vast tracts of fertile land have been rendered barren. Depriving Pakistan further of this life-sustaining element of nature amounts to driving it to the wall, leaving it with little option but to resort to desperation, that could prove disastrous for both the countries.

This proposed attempt at appropriating the Chenab waters should jolt Pakistani leaders out of their belief that India entertains neighbourly feelings for Pakistan, if responded positively and who find nothing wrong in granting it most favoured nation status. The story of composite dialogue and their abject failure in taking up the core issue of Kashmir in a meaningful manner or, for that matter, any other dispute; the response to the numerous confidence building measures we have taken – all this points to India’s recalcitrant posture towards Pakistan. The most significantly, the resolution underlines its arrogance, reflecting a deep-seated desire for hegemony and the belief that the Pakistan of today is not strong enough to effectively challenge it. It should remain under no such illusions; for desperate moments call for desperate measures and bring out the best in man. Before taking any foolhardy step, it should realise that its own interests as well as Pakistan’s lie in peaceful surroundings and nothing should be done to consign the region back to the Middle Ages. At the same time, India’s proposed move should serve as a dire warning to the international community of the dangers of a devastating water war it would entail and impress upon its leadership to see reason.

While India keeps glowering over smaller neighbours there are reports, which highlight its own deep inner malaise. The warning of its Foreign Minister Suleiman Khurshid to the Muslims in India that their religion is under threat at the hands of inimical forces in the country puts paid to its claim of being a secular democracy. It is pertinent to recall here that consistent efforts are made to systematically deprive Muslims of their right to education, health and other basic needs, with the result that, with few exceptions, they have no access to government jobs and experience the pain and shame of a ghetto life. The 20-odd insurgencies, including the freedom struggle in Kashmir, prove the point that India has to change its ways before it faces a veritable upheaval.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...g-of-water-war