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Baglihar threat to Pakistan
By MIAN AZIZ-UL-HAQ QURESHIIt is quite astonishing that the Government of Pakistan is pluming itself on the verdict of the World Bank arbitrator on Baglihar Dam. This dam when constructed will play havoc with the economic and political stability and the ideological frontiers of Pakistan. Apart from huge water losses, it will also spell disaster for our defence. As it is, the construction of the dam violated the Indus Water Treaty and was downright illegal but our referring the water to a toothless international agency for arbitration was a grossly unwise step. India has once again hoodwinked the world and managed to get an illegal act in fact, an international crime ratified by the bank. Rejoicing over the verdict is both rash and simply dangerous. Our naïve response unfortunately implies that we are oblivious of the dangers that the dam poses and also of its consequence for the future. We should have figured out the true intentions of Bharat and acted accordingly. Because of our remissness Bharat, in sheer violation of the IWT, has already constructed sixteen big and small dams on the Chenab. Its excuse: people of the area are in acute need of electricity. When we challenged the legality of the project, Bharat grew more defiant and began surreptitiously to build dams, which hindered the run of the river. Posted by: John Frum 2007-03-11 |
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