Pakistan flags 'unusual' Chenab flows, cites Baglihar reservoir moves
“Islamabad challenged ‘unusual’ Chenab fluctuations it says point to Baglihar reservoir manipulations.”
Key points
- Islamabad challenged ‘unusual’ Chenab fluctuations it says point to Baglihar reservoir manipulations.
- Citing the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan sought data from India as flows stabilised after mid-month lows.
Pakistan has formally taken up with India sharp and irregular changes in Chenab River flows, which authorities say plunged to a decade-low earlier this month. Data from the Punjab Irrigation Department showed troughs as low as 870 cusecs between December 10 and 16—well below the historical minimum band of roughly 4,018–4,406 cusecs for the same dates.
A government review of satellite imagery from December 8 and 13 indicated the Baglihar reservoir’s surface area first shrank and then expanded, suggesting it was emptied and later refilled. Islamabad argues such actions would contravene the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which prohibits emptying the dead storage of run-of-river projects on the western rivers.
Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters has asked New Delhi for detailed records and an explanation under the treaty’s mechanisms. Authorities say flows have since rebounded, recording 4,505–6,494 cusecs on December 19, but will remain under close watch.
Officials also linked the episode to broader tensions after India’s unilateral move to hold the IWT in abeyance earlier this year—an action Pakistan says undermines regional stability and food security.
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