IWT under strain amid India's projects: Mohsin Leghari

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Jun, 2026) Former Punjab Minister for Irrigation Mohsin Leghari has said that the Indus Waters Treaty, long regarded as one of the world’s most durable water-sharing arrangements between Pakistan and India, is facing renewed strain amid recent developments involving treaty interpretation, hydropower expansion, and inter-basin water transfers.

Mohsin Leghari, senior water policy expert currently associated with UNDP Pakistan’s National Governance Programme, noted that for over six decades, the treaty had largely survived periods of war and political tension, with India allocated the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) and Pakistan receiving rights over the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab), subject to limited permissible uses by India.

Talking to APP, leghari said concerns intensified after India reportedly placed the treaty in abeyance in April 2025, arguing that such a move weakened the legal framework governing one of the world’s largest shared river systems, which supports the livelihoods of people across both countries.

Leghari highlighted multiple Indian hydropower projects on the Chenab River, including Pakal Dul, Kiru, Kwar, and Ratle, noting that while each project is individually claimed by India to comply with treaty provisions, their combined operation could potentially influence the timing and regulation of river flows.

He stressed that the core concern is not only the total volume of water, but also the ability to control when water is released, which could have downstream implications for agriculture and irrigation systems in Pakistan.

He also pointed to an 8.7-kilometre tunnel project in India’s Lahaul-Spiti region designed to divert water from the Chandra and Bhaga rivers—tributaries of the Chenab—into the Beas basin.

Leghari argued that even if the volume diverted is relatively small compared to the Chenab’s annual flow, such inter-basin transfers raise significant legal and treaty interpretation questions, as the Indus Waters Treaty was based on the principle of keeping eastern and western river systems largely separate.

According to Leghari, Pakistan’s irrigation network—including systems such as the Marala Barrage and the Upper Chenab Canal—was developed on the assumption of predictable flows within the Chenab basin.

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Any diversion outside the basin, he warned, could create long-term uncertainty for downstream water users and affect agricultural planning.

He added that evolving river management practices on both sides have increased the importance of legal clarity and technical monitoring under the treaty framework.

Leghari cautioned that unilateral changes to long-standing water-sharing arrangements could undermine confidence in international water treaties globally, especially in regions where major rivers cross national boundaries. He noted that even India is itself downstream on rivers originating in Tibet, highlighting the interconnected nature of transboundary water systems.

He suggested that Pakistan should focus on strengthening water resilience through infrastructure and governance reforms. These include expanding storage capacity downstream of Marala, modernizing canal systems, and investing in real-time monitoring, data analytics, and forecasting tools to better manage fluctuations in river flows.

He also emphasized improved coordination among provinces, calling for shared water data systems, unified measurement standards, and joint planning of irrigation and storage projects.

According to him, greater transparency and inter-provincial cooperation are essential to reduce mistrust and ensure efficient and equitable water distribution within Pakistan.

Talking about the recent supplemental award issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in ongoing proceedings related to the Indus Waters Treaty, he stated that the decision is viewed in Pakistan as affirming its long-standing legal position that the treaty places substantive limits on India’s ability to control or regulate flows on the western rivers of the Indus river system.

He believed that Pakistan is on strong legal footing, adding that its rights under the treaty have been recognized through the established arbitration and dispute-resolution framework provided within the agreement.

Concluding his remarks, Leghari stressed that Pakistan should simultaneously pursue both legal and internal reforms. He said these approaches are not alternatives but complementary and must be advanced in parallel to strengthen Pakistan’s position and water security.

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