According to newspaper reports, the Indian government has started reviewing the Indus Waters Treaty, which gives Pakistan right to use water of three rivers flowing through its territory. The agricultural sector of Pakistan fully depends on water from the Indus River system that passes through the Indian-occupied Kashmir before reaching Pakistan. India is determined to continue hostility with Pakistan on one pretext or the other. According to the ancient Hindu foreign diplomacy rules, there must be a hostile country in the neighbourhood to quell the internal conflicts and issues. Indian Prime Minister Modi’s declaration of water treaty review is de facto declaration of war on Pakistan to keep the hostility intact. According to the Chinese media, instead of shooting war, India is trying to wage the first water war of the world against its neighbour. Pakistan and India had signed Indus Water Treaty on September 19, 1960 which survived many ups and downs during the years, but now India intends to use water as weapon to inflict heavy losses on the Pakistan economy. Pakistan has agricultural economy and it depends on the Indus River, but deprivation of water will barren the plains of the country.
The Indus Waters Treaty was sponsored by the World Bank and was signed by President Ayub Khan and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. However, the new Indian government is ruled by a political party which has a history of anti-Muslims and anti-Pakistan policies. The parent organization of the current ruling party, Bhartiya Janta Party, is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which was founded in 1925 and it encourages hatred against non-Hindus in India. The RSS and other like-minded organizations are against Pakistan by default and want to establish Hindu rules in all over the sub-continent. According to experts, India is setting a dangerous example to use water as weapons against enemies and will open floodgates of wars and conflicts all over the world. It is the responsibility of the world community and the World Bank to dissuade India from waging the water war against Pakistan. India’s bid to block rivers will bring disastrous effects on the Pakistani economy and it is unacceptable. Pakistan is closely watching the situation across the border and escalation of hostility between the two countries will only bring death and hunger for millions of people living in this region.
At a time the situation in occupied Kashmir is slipping out of the hands of New Delhi, such moves will only worsen the situation than bringing any good to the poor of the two nations. If Pakistani economy suffers, Indian economy will not allowed to be prosper.
