INDIA’S suspension of theIndus Waters Treaty (IWT) could have serious repercussions for Pakistan’sagriculturaleconomy, disrupting crucial water data sharing and reducing flows during key crop seasons, experts havewarned.Long-termimpact, however,dependsonIndia’sability to quickly develop the infrastructure required to utilise its full share of the Indus basin’s western rivers -- a process that could take a decade, they said. Experts have pointed to the legal constraints of the agreement,India’s geographic advantageastheupstreamcountryand the potentially-severe economic fallout for Pakistan. Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) said, “The treaty has no provisionforunilateralsuspension.

 

We have several projects underway intheChenabbasinthatwilltake five to seven years to complete. Until then, water will continue to flow to Pakistan by gravity. Oncetheseareoperational,India will have control mechanisms that currently do not exist,” Thakkar told PTI. ShripadDharmadhikary,environmental activist and founder of Manthan Adhyayan Kendra cautionedagainstassumingthat India could rapidly divert water flows. “At present, we lack the major infrastructure needed to stop water from flowing into Pakistan,”hesaid.“Constructing suchsystemswouldtakearound a decade and could be viewed as an act of war.” P K Saxena, former Indian commissioner for Indus waters said that India should respond strategically by accelerating development on western rivers, engaginginproactivetreatyrenegotiations,challengingPakistan’s selective interpretations.