Pakistan has neither any concern nor any objection if India diverts its share of water from the three eastern rivers. Recently Indian Union Minister said that India will half its share of water flowing to Pakistan.
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The recent announcement made by India’s Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said: “Under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Sri Narendra Modi Ji, our government has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.”
India’s announcement for choking water is in addition to other actions like withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status and slapping of a 200 percent duty on all imports from Pakistan due to Pulwama attacks.
In an interaction with Pakistani media, Secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said: “We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT (Indus Waters Treaty) allows it do so.”
“But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails,” Shumali added.
Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah emphasised saying, “Whether they diverted and used their unutilised share of eastern rivers’ waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they don’t want to use this, we have no issue.”
While responding to the proposed visit of Indian experts to Kotri Barrage (Sindh) amid the rising tensions due to the Pulwama attack, the Commissioner said: “Let’s see what happens in this regard. But we hope for the best.”
Under the Indus Water Treaty, the delegation of Pakistani experts headed by Shah completed its general tour of inspection to various hydropower projects – 1,000MW Pakal Dul, 48MW Lower Kalnai, 850MW Ratlay and 900MW Baglihar dam at Chenab Basin in India from January 28 to February 1. India has already shared the design data of its three planned run-of-the-river hydropower schemes with Pakistan.
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