The news comes a week after an attack on an Indian army base in the disputed Kashmir region that killed 18 soldiers. India blames Pakistan for the attack. While India vowed to retaliate for the attack, military options could be risky.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with officials on Monday, saying India should use more of the rivers’ resources, a source speaking on the condition he was not named, and with knowledge of the meeting told Reuters. With military intervention not really an option, some officials want to use a vigorous diplomatic offensive instead.
Modi had already said on Saturday that India would mount a global campaign to isolate Pakistan, including going through the United Nations. Pakistan has long been accused of backing terrorist groups operating out of the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir (J and K) in northern India.
So it appears that Modi is going to use the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between the two countries as a means of retaliation. The treaty is lop-sided, granting all but 19.5 percent of the Indus river system’s waters to Pakistan, an enemy state. The IWT covers six rivers.
“We want to see that all these (hydropower) projects are put on a really fast-track basis,” the source told Reuters. “Our entire approach was done to create an atmosphere of goodwill. But in this atmosphere, we want to exploit all our rights under the (Indus Water) treaty,” the source added.
According to the latest news from The Indian Express today, Pakistan’s envoy was summoned and given proof of the Uri attackers being from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But Pakistan has already threatened India with violating the IWT, calling the hydropower plan an “act of war” if it is carried out.
India says its use of upstream waters is strictly in line with the treaty provisions. India currently generates 3,000 megawatts of energy from hydropower plants on rivers in its portion of Kashmir, but India believes there is the potential to generate about 18,000 megawatts.
The tension is building as the world watches. It is never any good when disagreements between two nuclear powers escalate, and the two countries have fought over the water treaty before.