Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed - PDMA

controlled flows were released downstream Indus at that point in
time, after retaining 6.97 feet, against 1 foot permissible under
normal SOP. Likewise, Mangla reservoir on Jhelum River absorbed
a peak of 344,000 cusecs to release attenuated supplies. These
two reservoirs, with total storage capacity of 12.62 MAF, are
augmented in stages as per precisely calibrated heights/volumes
as a standard practice. However, the top management engaged
itself to permit substantial deviations to contain the exceptional
build up downstream Khairabad as noted in an earlier part of this
Report. One of the lessons learnt is that delayed creation of new
water reservoirs is neither conducive for national objectives nor
symbolize much needed gratitude for nature’s free gift.
d) Indus Water Commission (IWC) constituted under the Indus
Water Treaty for overseeing treaty obligations in liaison with Indian
counterparts; the Commission did not examine any of its officials for
no suggestion or complaint was made with respect to lack of timely
warnings about the flood flows from Indian managed rivers.
However, the Commission would like to flag that IWC is an
important player in the context of information exchange during
critical phases of flood forecast and management. This
Commission noted some recent reports in public domain wherein
grave concerns have been expressed about the unequal nature of
the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), in the context of Indo-Pakistan
conflict, impinging on Pakistan’s very existence. In this regard, the
Commission would like to make a passing reference to the
disagreement between two south Asian neighbours with respect to
“the water issue” as also reported in Indian media: The Times of
India, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express and
The Economic Times. The upshots of these reports, taken together
with the background analysis by Mr. B.A. Malik, in his ‘Indus
Treaty in Retrospect’, raised fundamental questions regarding
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