Speaking during a visit to the National Emergencies Operations Centre in Islamabad, Sharif said, “The enemy has certain evil designs against Pakistan and wants to take steps against the waters treaty. For that, the government has decided that we will build our water storage,” reported Pakistani daily Dawn.
Plans for water infra and emergency Sharif announced that Pakistan will prioritise building “non-controversial water storage capacity” using domestic resources.
“We will build this capacity with our own resources in the next few years. There is a critical role of the National Disaster Management Authority in this,” he said.
Read more: India eyes revival of Tulbul project months after suspending Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan
He particularly stressed the revival of stalled infrastructure projects such as the Diamer Bhasha Dam on the Indus river, which has faced delays for decades due to financial and environmental concerns, as per Dawn.
Sharif also directed relevant authorities to improve early warning systems particularly during monsoons and to issue alerts via phone messages in coordination with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.
India’s suspension of IWT and Pak’s response
India has put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in abeyance following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam which left 26 people dead. The responsibility of the attack was taken by The Resistance Force (TRF), a proxy group of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group.
The move marked a significant diplomatic escalation, with India’s PM Narendra Modi clearing that “water and blood cannot flow together.”
The IWT was brokered by the World Bank and allocated the three eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej – to India and the three western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab – to Pakistan.
Read more: Quad ministers condemn Pahalgam terror attack in J&K without naming Pakistan
Nearly 80% of Pakistan’s water supply comes from these rivers which is crucial for its agriculture sector.
Pakistan has condemned India’s move, calling it a violation of the treaty and threatening legal action, including invoking the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as per Dawn.
