Ansar Abbasi has quoted the International Court of Arbitration as follows, ‘’Pakistan has submitted no data on current or anticipated agriculture uses of water from the Kishanganga dam. In the absence of evidence upon which the Court could rely, the Court is unable to take account of such potential uses and has reached its determination of the minimum flow in Neelum river on the basis of hydro-electric and environmental factors alone’’.
This contradicts the statement by the Pakistan Indus Water Commissioner that ‘’The Court has allowed India to divert only minimum flow of water from Kishanganga for the purpose of power generation’’.
We have to wait and see what the factual position is. Going by past experience we may never know the truth because the government will keep claiming success, there being no such thing as the citizens ‘Right to Know’.
Ansar Abbasi has rung the warning bell, ‘’Pakistan’s internal water disputes, its failure to build major dams and wastage of water will all lead to further cut in Pakistani water by India’’.
Small dams will not, repeat, will not cope with the impending water crisis, a crisis, we are told, that will make us forget the power crisis. Dasu and Bunji dams will not give us any water. Bhasha dam will be too late. But the government is stymied from taking the right decision because of the mindless opposition to Kalabagh dam.
The media, the columnists, the intelligentsia et al have given up i.e. given up on Pakistan.
ENGR KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore