PAKISTAN’S stance on India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is rooted in its legal rights concerning the Indus basin’s western rivers under the treaty. Walking away from the treaty is a breach of obligation by India. Moreover, the threat to stop flows to the lower riparian is a human rights violation. Anxiety and warning of reciprocal action were only to be expected. Fortunately, the reality is that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s threats have to cross several, practically insurmountable hurdles to achieve their aim.

Pakistan’s waters are guarded by certain geographical features of the upper Indus basin. As against three eastern rivers allocated to India, Pakistan’s rivers traverse a complex topography of deep gorges, steep cliffs, freezing temperatures, seismic vulnerability and sparse demography. The Indus and Jhelum allow few feasible options for diversion or large-scale storage in areas within the Indian remit. The Chenab also flows through narrow canyons and cramped valleys barely 100 to 500 metres wide. Its elevation plummets from 4,800m at the headwaters to barely 300m as it approaches Pakistan. Nevertheless, India has options of erecting small hydropower dams that can create fleeting........

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