NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -India has shared a warning on possible cross-border flooding with neighbour Pakistan, Pakistani officials and a source in New Delhi said on Monday, as the arch enemies grapple with deadly floods and relentless monsoon rains.
The information-sharing has come as a surprise because New Delhi put a decades-old treaty with Islamabad on water access in “abeyance” in April after linking a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir to Pakistan. Islamabad denied any involvement. The tensions escalated in May to the worst military clash between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.
India’s high commission in Islamabad shared the warning on Sunday with Pakistan’s foreign ministry on “humanitarian grounds” and not under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, the Indian source said, following heavy rains in the Jammu and Kashmir region bordering Pakistan.
The source, citing government rules, declined to be named. India’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the warning was issued through diplomatic channels “rather than through the Indus Waters Commission as required under the Indus Waters Treaty”.
This month floods in India’s northern territory of Jammu and Kashmir have killed at least 60 people and nearly 400 more in northwest Pakistan.
In total, the floods have killed 799 people in Pakistan since the monsoon started in late June, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said, warning of more heavy rain until September 10.
Mazhar Hussain, a disaster management official in the Pakistani province of Punjab, said the information shared by India included a warning about a possible surge in the Tawi river, which becomes the Sutlej when it crosses into Pakistan.
“It has not indicated the scale of water but has warned about high flooding in the river,” Hussain said.
“Moreover, heavy rains across the border have filled the Indian dams, which would force India to release water. Heavy rains in Pakistan and the water released by India would cause high floods in Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab in Punjab.”
WATER SUPPLY
Under the 1960 treaty, three rivers that flow westwards from India were awarded to Pakistan and three eastern-flowing rivers were granted to India.
Pakistan fears India could choke its main water supply, putting at risk most of its agriculture and hydro-power.
In its statement on Monday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry reiterated its call on India to comply with all provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty.
“India’s unilateral declaration to hold the Treaty in abeyance constitutes a serious violation of international law and could have significant negative consequences for peace and stability in South Asia.”
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi, Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Mubasher Bukhari in LahoreEditing by YP Rajesh and Gareth Jones)
