EVERY year, with the arrival of the monsoon season, the people of Bahawalpur eagerly await the arrival of Sutlej River, as is the case right now, wondering how much water it will carry. Four years back, when the river overflowed its banks, people were jubilant. They celebrated by throwing flowers into the river, creating a festive atmosphere near the Empress Bridge.
The people of Bahawalpur, who long for the revival of the Sutlej River, are now taken aback and somewhat saddened by the portrayal in newspapers and on TVs, labeling the river’s resurgence as “water terrorism” committed by the neighbour. The issue here lies in India’s highhandedness whereby it has deprived the dry region known Cholistan, Rohi, from its due share of water. Only when the floods occur the waters of Ghaggar and Sutlej reach the natural lakes, pastures are restored and the underground water level rises.
Sutlej River, originating in Tibet, from the same source as the Indus and Brahmaputra, used to be a perennial source of prosperity for the former princely state of Bahawalpur. However, it was given to India under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) as a goodwill gesture. Not only the Sutlej River but also the Beas and Ravi were included in the IWT.
According to international laws governing the use of rivers, no state can divert water in a manner that alters its natural course and flow. Yet, in this case, the entire rivers have been diverted from its original route. The Indus Waters Treaty (1960) states that India is not obligated to release water in the eastern rivers, but Pakistan is bound to ensure that even if industrial, agricultural and urban waste flows into these rivers, it cannot be stopped, nor can Pakistan demand that only clean water enters its borders.
Even if the saga that began with the world’s largest migration tragedy had concluded with the capture of the rivers, perhaps we could have been patient. Unfortunately, the oppression continues. India has constructed the world’s second-largest dam on the Sutlej River, through which the water of this mighty river reaches Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. However, the riverine communities in the eastern regions of Pakistan yearn for even a drop of this water. Bahawalpur, where the river forms a delta, now suffers from hunger and disease since the river’s disappearance. A limited amount of water is supplied to Bahawalpur through the Mailsi Link Canal, but it cannot compensate for the loss of perennial river like Sutlej.
Other than India’s lust for usurping the rightful water share of the neighbor, the BJP government is entertaining plans to divert the Sutlej waters rather than releasing them downstream. During a meeting held in May this year, the ministers of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh agreed to divert Sutlej waters to Gujarat via the Ghaggar River (also known as the Hakra River). Since Pakistan has effectively abandoned these rivers and does not, strangely enough, insist even on environment flows, it is understood that it is not consulted by the neighbour on this matter.
The Ghaggar River had been dammed by the East India Company government to promote agriculture in the region that is now part of Haryana. This river had been forgotten at the time of partition. In 1960, Nehru tricked Ayub Khan into signing the Indus Basin Treaty, seemingly gaining control of three rivers, but Pakistan actually surrendered four rivers to India.
The ignorance regarding the value of rivers for both human and aquatic life, as seen prominently in the media today, began with our neglect of the Ghaggar River which played a vital role in preserving flora and fauna and keeping water table high in Cholistan. Probably, we were not in a position to talk about the lost river when the Indus Waters Treaty was signed due to the reason that Pakistan was not having a representative government to guard people’ interest.
Even the civilian governments have never talked about the injustice done through the water sharing formula of the Indus Basin. They have not even insisted on environment flows for the benefit of human and aquatic life. So, whether India intends to divert the waters of the Sutlej and Beas to the Yamuna or Ghaggar River is no longer our concern either. However, if we possess even a fraction of the substance required for statehood, namely patriotism, we should demand from India, in accordance with changing times, to respect international laws concerning rivers and insist on environmental flows downstream. This should be a primary condition for reestablishing ties with our neighbor.
If India desires to redirect the waters of the Sutlej to the Ghaggar River for its reaching Gujarat, we should insist that the river follows its original course which passes through Cholistan. In that case, India should release all the waters of the Beas to Pakistan to compensate for the loss of the Sutlej River. Lastly, it is crucial for India not to discharge polluted water from its industries, agriculture and cities into Pakistan, as it literally amounts ecocide of the lower riparian — it damages the environment, pollutes underground water and spreads dangerous diseases such as cancer and bone deformities.
—The writer is politico-strategic analyst based in Islamabad.
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