Pakistan reviews India’s multi-crore Sawalkote Dam as Chenab projects gather pace: Report

Islamabad is reviewing India’s latest dam project on the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir, according to a News18 report citing unnamed top sources in Pakistan’s water resources ministry have indicated.India has commenced construction of the ₹5,129-crore Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab, the first major project to receive approval from the Narendra Modi government after it moved to set aside the Indus Waters Treaty.

News18 had earlier reported that the Centre has directed authorities to expedite four significant hydropower schemes across the Chenab basin.
Officials have been tasked with commissioning the Pakal Dul and Kiru projects by December 2026, completing the Kwar project by March 2028 and stepping up progress on the strategically sensitive Ratle Dam.New Delhi placed the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in April 2025 in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, asserting that “blood and water cannot flow together.”

By suspending the pact, India has halted data-sharing and prior notification obligations with Pakistan for projects on the Chenab. It has also declined to recognise rulings issued by the Court of Arbitration, terming them “illegal.”