90% of Pakistan’s Farming Relies on Indus—India’s Step Sparks Starvation Fears
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu)- After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, the Modi government at the center has taken a tough stand against Pakistan. A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which many major decisions were taken. India has also decided to stop the Indus Water Treaty for the time being. This step will have a very adverse effect on Pakistan.
Actually, the Indus Water Treaty is a historic agreement between India and Pakistan. It was signed in 1960. It was signed by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan. The World Bank played the role of mediator in this. The purpose of the treaty was to end the dispute by setting the conditions for sharing the water of the rivers between the two countries. The Indus river system includes a total of six rivers, including three eastern rivers Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and three western rivers Indus, Jhelum, Chenab. Under this agreement, India has got the right to control and use the eastern rivers, while Pakistan has got control of the western rivers. About 90 percent of Pakistan's agricultural irrigation depends on the Indus water system. If India stops the Indus Water Treaty, water will not be able to reach the Indus river in Pakistan, which will create a water crisis and it will have a direct impact on agriculture there.
Apart from this, there are many hydropower projects related to the Indus river in Pakistan. Their production will be affected due to water shortage, which will deepen the energy crisis. Energy crisis is already a big problem in Pakistan. At the same time, the residents of Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan depend on this river system for drinking water. Due to the ban, there will also be a shortage of drinking water. It is noteworthy that many top officials including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval attended the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs at the Prime Minister's residence on Wednesday.
Without water, Pakistan's crops will be ruined, there will be chaos due to starvation: Major General Bansal
Former member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Major General (Dr.) J.K. Bansal, said about India's decision to stop the Indus Water Treaty after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that this will weaken Pakistan a lot, its agriculture and farmers' crops will be ruined. Major General J.K. Bansal told news agency IANS that Pakistan is in a very weak position at the moment and the recent decisions taken by India will weaken it further. He said that Pakistan's economy is in shambles, there is a shortage of grains there and the grains coming from outside are sold in the black market. The public is suffering from hunger. Now a decision has been taken to stop the water of the Indus River, due to which their crops will be ruined, farmers will suffer from starvation and there will be no drinking water. This will create chaos in Pakistan. He said that the visas of Pakistani citizens in India have been canceled and visas will not be given in future. Due to this, Pakistani patients, who used to come to India for cheap and advanced treatment, will no longer be able to do so. Apart from this, Pakistan's military attache is being sent back and the number of their diplomats has been reduced to 30. These decisions are a big blow to Pakistan.
