Committee headed by Dar to work on new water reservoirs

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday formed a committee, tasked with constructing new water reservoirs and arranging the required funding, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the uncontroversial projects would be completed on a priority basis.

In the backdrop of India’s decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty into abeyance, the move is of great significance, as ensuring water security and food security is a matter of survival for Pakistan.

That’s why Islamabad had made it clear in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move soon after the Pahalgam attack that any attempt to stop water flow to Pakistan would be considered an act of war.

Read more: Will take every step to ensure India doesn’t stop water: Shehbaz

STRATEGY 

A statement issued after the huddle says Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar – who is also the foreign minister – will lead the committee, as the participants deliberated upon ways and means to construct new water storage projects.

Meanwhile, the chief ministers of four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan as well as some federal ministers are the panel members.

The panel is assigned with the task with developing a strategy to arrange finances for these projects and submit its recommendations to the prime within 72 hours.

During the meeting, the authorities gave a detailed briefing to the prime minister on the subject.

The officials said the under-construction Diamer Bhasha would be completed by 2032 and the Mohmand Dam by 2027.  

WATER AGGRESSION 

Shehbaz, who was chairing the meeting on water resources, said new dams would be constructed only after developing a consensus among the provinces.

Repeating his government stance, the prime minister said the unilateral suspension of Indus Waters Treaty was clear violation of the accord and water aggression.

He, however, promised that Pakistan would give respond to India’s water aggression in a manner similar to what it did in Marka-e-Haq – the recent war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours – in a victorious manner.