India lowers gates of sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam as a ‘short-term punitive action’.
India had suspended Indus Water Treaty in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack
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| (File) The confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers at Sangam, in Nimmu, Ladakh | Shutterstock |
The Week, May 04, 2025 : In retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, India has cut the flow of water through Baglihar dam on the Chenab river, reports said. The move comes after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty as part of a series of diplomatic measures initiated against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
“India has stanched the flow of water through the Baglihar dam on the Chenab river and is planning similar measures at the Kishanganga Dam on the Jhelum river, sources in the know of the development told PTI.
The Baglihar hydroelectric dam, located in Ramban in Jammu, offers India the ability to regulate the timing of water releases. India is exploring similar measures at the Kishanganga hydroelectric dam located in north Kashmir. “The gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam have been lowered to restrict water flow to Pakistan’s Punjab as a ‘short-term punitive action’,” a senior official told Indian Express.
“By doing this, even if the choke is for a short while, we demonstrate that we will take coercive steps… The Chenab river water irrigates Punjab farmlands, and Pakistan needs to realise we mean to punish them on all fronts,” the official told the publication.
As many as 26 persons were killed by terrorists with alleged Pakistani links in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. A Nepali citizen, a local horse trader and 24 tourists from various parts of the country got killed in the worst attack since the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Brokered by the World Bank, the Indus Waters Treaty has governed the use of the Indus river and its tributaries between India and Pakistan since 1960.
