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New Delhi- After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the Indian government took a hard line against Pakistan and abrogated the Indus Treaty. India’s position was clear: blood and water will not flow together. Pakistan is highly dependent on the waters of the Indus River Basin. Now, the new Environmental Threat Report 2025 claims that Pakistan is facing a serious water crisis.
A report released by the Australian think-tank Institute for Economics and Peace claims that Pakistan depends on 80% of the Indus water for its agriculture. As a result, as India abrogated the Indus Water Treaty and cut off the water supply, Pakistan faced considerable difficulties.
The report also claims that Pakistan can now store water for only 30 days. Pakistani farmers are suffering huge losses due to lack of water.
However, the report also states that India cannot hold more water by building dams on its western rivers. Run-of-the-river projects cannot completely stop the flow of water at these dams. Therefore, India will have to adopt other measures to completely stem the flow of water.
The Indus River and its tributaries are an important waterway for both India and Pakistan, supplying most of Pakistan’s agricultural water needs, the report said.
Meanwhile, India can use the western rivers for non-consumptive needs such as hydropower generation, navigation and limited irrigation, but cannot divert or store its water across the border.
In return, Pakistan had to allow India exclusive use of the East Rivers, which required the construction of new canals and storage on the Pakistani side to replenish East River water diverted by India.
