China fast tracks Mohmand Dam after India’s water threat

BEIJING: China has ordered round‑the‑clock work on Pakistan’s Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project after New Delhi moved to cut Indus River flows.

State broadcaster CCTV said concrete filling of the 800 MW dam—under construction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2019—began on Saturday, calling it “a critical milestone” that ushers in an accelerated schedule. The scheme had originally been slated for completion next year.

The push comes as India suspends the World Bank‑brokered Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam incident, raising fears for Pakistan’s water security.

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The treaty allocates the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers to Pakistan and the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej to India; Islamabad depends on the system for roughly 80 per cent of its agriculture.

During the recent flare‑up, India briefly slashed Chenab flows by 90 per cent before suddenly releasing water, causing near‑flood conditions downstream.

Billed as a multi‑purpose project with China-Pakistan venture, the Mohmand Dam will generate power, curb floods, irrigate farmland and supply 300 million gallons of drinking water daily to Peshawar. It is one of several “iron‑clad” China‑Pakistan ventures, alongside the massive Diamer‑Bhasha project—dubbed Pakistan’s own “Three Gorges.”

India is considering plans to dramatically increase the water it draws from a major river that feeds Pakistani farms downstream, as part of retaliatory action for a deadly April attack on tourists that New Delhi blames on Islamabad, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which governs usage of the Indus river system, shortly after 26 civilians in Indian Kashmir were killed in what India called an act of terror. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but the accord has not been revived despite the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreeing a ceasefire last week following the worst fighting between them in decades.