History: Pakistan & the Water
By Ch. Fahad Bhutta
“Thousands have lived without love, not one without Water”
Water is a natural resource which is vital for the survival of humanity and all the species on earth. As a good of creation, water is destined for all human beings and their communities. God intended the earth and all it contains for the use of all, so that all created things would be shared fairly by humankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity. Human beings, and the communities in which they live, cannot do anything without water since it corresponds to their primary needs and constitutes a basic condition of their existence. All depend upon the fate of water. Access to safe water and sanitation is indispensable for all human beings and communities in the world. .
Media has made our planet smaller, rapidly narrowing the distances between different peoples and cultures. This “togetherness”, our ability to know almost instantly about the needs of others, challenges us to share their situation in life, even their difficulties. Despite the great advances made in science and technology, each day we see how much suffering there is in the world due to poverty, both material and spiritual. The problem of water scarcity and water deprivation is experienced most dramatically by men and women living in poverty and often in the poorest countries. However, the concept of “family of nations” recalls that responsibility for the destiny of the less favored countries rests also with those more richly blessed.
In today’s Era, Pakistan is one of those countries in fact I would not be wrong if I say that Pakistan ranked 3rd amongst those countries which are facing water shortages (IMF Report). In my opinion, one cannot understand the reasons of water issue in Pakistan without going into the history because Water Issue in Pakistan is not new. Pakistan is facing water issue since its inception in fact before its inception. Pakistan came into being in 1947 but if we look into the history, we would come to know that water issue arose in sub-continent in 1901 when Irrigation Commission of India prohibited Punjab from taking even a drop of water from Indus without the permission/approval of Sind. It is pertinent to mention here that essentially, the water issue is between Sind and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. When one looks at a satellite picture of Pakistan and Sind, it is quite clear that the River Indus is a pivotal water source for Sind as it is the only source of freshwater that sustains the people, local environments, and the economy of Sind. Indus is the longest river of Indo-Pak subcontinent, about 1900 miles long. The Indus river system comprises of seven rivers including the River Indus itself. The five rivers of Punjab – Bias, Sutluj, Ravi, Chanab, and Jehlem discharge in Indus at Mithan Kot and the Kabul River at Attock. In 1919, the then government of India issued the Cotton Committee report where in, it prohibited Punjab from undertaking any projects until Sukkur barrage was completed and water needs of Sind were determined. In 1925, Lord Reading, the British Viceroy of India, rejected Punjab’s request for Thal canal from Indus considering the undue deprivation of Sind’s lower riparian rights. In 1937 however, the Anderson Commission allowed Punjab to withdraw 775 cusecs of water on experimental basis from Indus for Thal canal. In 1939, Sind lodged a formal complaint with the government, under the Government of India Act of 1935. Consequently, in 1941, the Roy Commission recognized the injustice that was meted out to Sind, recommended construction of two new barrages in Sind on Indus, and ordered Punjab to pay 20 million Rupees of the construction cost of these barrages to ameliorate Sind’s losses due to the actions of Punjab. Under the guidance of the Roy Commission, a committee comprising of the chief engineers of Punjab and Sind came out with an agreement in 1945, known as “Sind- Punjab Agreement.” It resolved the distribution of the waters of all Indus basin rivers between Punjab and Sind. Essentially, this agreement recognized Sind’s supremacy over the Indus River and nothing upstream could be changed or built without her formal consent and approval.
After the partition of India in 1947, “Committee B” was established to resolve the water issues related to partition by March 31, 1948, as the location of two canals in the Pakistani Punjab side had their headwork in Indian Punjab. In the final analysis, the Pakistani side agreed to the astonishment of everyone to pay for the right to use waters of the two canals. In 1948, an agreement was signed at Shimla to that effect. After losing its own water to India, Punjab targeted Indus to siphon off its waters in violation of the existing agreements between Sind and Punjab. Punjab constructed a link canal called as “BRBD link canal” without the consent and approval of Sind in a clear violation of Sind – Punjab Agreement of 1945. In 1960, under the auspices of the World Bank, the Indus Basin Water Treaty (IBWT) was signed between India and Pakistan. The agreement gave three eastern rivers, i.e., Bias, Sutlaj, and Ravi to India and three western rivers, i.e., Chanab, Jehlam and Indus to Pakistan. India was, however, allowed to irrigate 1.3 million acres of land from the western rivers. In return, India paid monies to Pakistan for the exclusive rights on the rivers allotted to her and irrigation rights on the western rivers. Also, the World Bank gave monies for development of the water projects in Pakistan. Pakistan established WAPDA or the Water and Power Development Authority to be responsible for development of the water resources.
Before partition there was only one barrage, the Sukkur barrage, on the River Indus built in 1932. According to statistics, in the last 55 years, there are now 19 barrages and 43 canal systems with 48 off-takes on the Indus River System in Pakistan, creating world’s largest contiguous man made system of 61,000 km of canals and 105,000 water courses, irrigating 35 million acres of land.. Three storage reservoirs were built, Mangla on River Jehlum and Tarbella and Chashma on River Indus, with total storage capacity of 20 MAF. Additionally, 12 link canals were built to transfer water from western rivers to eastern rivers or the tributaries of the River Indus. Due to the above-mentioned political manipulation and unilateral decisions, all of these construction activities other than the two additional barrages in Sind (i.e., Guddu Barrage and Kotri Barrage) were mostly for the benefit of Punjab.
After many a commissions and interim arrangements, the Nawaz Sharif government of Pakistan, through undemocratic and autocratic means, forced the Indus Water Accord in 1991 for the Indus system waters. IRSA or the Indus River System Authority was established for this purpose. Total water available in the system was estimated to be 114.35 MAF below rim stations. It was allocated as 55.95 MAF for Punjab, 48.76 MAF for Sindh, 5.78 MAF for NWFP, and 3.87 MAF for Baluchistan. The accord provided for the distribution of any surpluses and the shortages as well. The agreement left water discharge to the sea unresolved subject to a study; however, it allocated 10 MAF in the interim for discharge to the sea. The result is that ever since the 1991 Water Accord, Sind has never received its fair share of Indus water, the study for outflow to the sea has not been performed and the water outflow to sea has never been as allocated. Under its Vision 2025 program, Pakistan has planned numerous projects and approved them for construction without appropriate consultation or consent of Sind as required under the agreements between Sind and Punjab. These projects include Kalabagh dam, Basha dam, Sukurdu dam, Satpara dam, Dhok Pathan dam, Sanjwal dam, Akhori dam, Bhater dam, Rohtas dam, Yugo dam, Chiniot reservoir, Hingol dam, Naulang dam, Gajnai dam, Mol and Khadeji dam, Rohtas dam, Mirani dam, Sabakzai dam, Gomal Zam dam, Kalam dam, Kachhi canal, Chashma right bank canal, greater Thal canal, Rainee canal, Sehwan barrage, etc. Out of these dams few have been constructed and few are still remaining to be constructed.
Recently, the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan has ordered to construct 2 Dams i.e. Diamir Bhasha Dam and the Mohmand Dam which is a good initiative to overcome the current water shortage. No doubt, Dams are today’s need to fulfill the demand of water for the people of Pakistan but at the same time Dams would not be of any use if we misuse the water as we use to do. We as a nation should also take some responsibility to save our resources for tomorrow. As there is a famous phrase that:
“Excess of anything is Fatal”
Keeping in view the above quoted proverb, each and person should think on it that what our responsibilities are because:
“Little drops make an ocean”.