‘India and Pakistan must use water as a tool to build trust'

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan need to adopt a joint, cooperative approach on the Indus river waters to counter the growing water crisis that threatens not only the lives and livelihoods of the people of the region, but also relations between India and Pakistan, according to experts participating in an India-Pakistan seminar here on ‘Water is Life.'

The seminar concluded that the bilateral Indus Water Treaty of 1960 was a viable pact that had stood the test of time and even war, but both sides needed to share data and information on the Indus river to counter misperceptions. The seminar was organised jointly by Aman Ki Asha and the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation

The delegates urged both the governments to share data, ensure transparency and make the information public. They suggested that there could be a joint-study of the factors responsible for the reported reduced flows in the western rivers (allotted to Pakistan under the treaty) and proposed joint monitoring of flows at strategic points.

Calling upon the two sides to use water as a tool to build trust and cooperation, the delegates agreed that the neighbours needed to manage their water resources internally and took note of the factors adding to water stress in the Indus basin, like climate change, glacier melt, fluctuations in precipitation patterns and increasing exploitation of water due to rising populations (increasing groundwater use, and direct withdrawals from the river).

The delegates deliberated upon the perception in Pakistan that India was diverting its share of water, which the Indian experts explained was not the case. However, it was agreed there were reduced flows of water in the rivers, related to ecological changes in the region. Delegates agreed that sharing experiences, particularly success stories, would be mutually beneficial. Participants included Khalid Mohtadullah, Zaigham Habib, Rafay Alam, Sulaiman Najib Khan and Ayub Qutub from Pakistan and Ramaswamy Iyer, R. Rangachari, Ravi Chopra, Virendra Kumar, Prem Shankar Jha and B.G. Verghese from India. Javid Shahmiri and Zubair Ahmad Dar provided perspectives from Jammu and Kashmir.

Source:The Hindu, 31-7-2010