Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed - PDMA

CHAPTER-4
GEOGRAPHY OF PAKISTAN
21. Pakistan is located in the Indus river basin and its delta, with rivers of
Kabul, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej as its main tributaries. Based on the
Indus river system supplies, we boast of the largest irrigation network in the world
though water availability for food and cash crops during critical seasons becomes
acute, particularly in dry weather cycles. However, following independence in
1947, problems regarding riparian rights with India emerged as an immediate
issue resolved by ad-hoc responses. In 1960, the World Bank brokered Indus
Water Treaty was signed, following imposition of extra-constitutional rule that
granted an air-base to the USA in Peshawar. Under the Treaty, Pakistan
conceded India’s rights over three eastern rivers: Ravi, Sutlej and Beeas
whereas our primacy over Indus, Jhelum and Chenab was recognized; to make
up for the ensuing water shortages from the rivers conceded to India, a system of
Link Canals and construction of major water reservoirs was designed for
gravitational transportation of water through economically viable softer soils in
the Punjab plains. Earth-filled Mangla Dam on River Jhelum [boundary of the
Punjab-Azad Jammu Kashmir] was the first to be constructed in 1960s, with
appropriate power generation capacity; recently, its storage capacity has been
increased by another 3.3 MAF by raising its height to originally contemplated
level. Construction of rock filled Tarbela Dam [in the KP Province] followed in mid
1970s, as the largest storage with power generation units since upgraded after
ADB financed Ghazi-Brotha project in the last decade. More were to follow,
preferably at 5-years interval: Kalabagh [Punjab-KP], and Diamer-Bhasha, Bunji
and Dasu [Gilgit-Baltistan] being two other major projects but the priorities
became controversial for various reasons, amongst the Provincial riparians.
Rather than moving on for construction of other agreed options, almost 25 years
were lost in the ‘to construct or not to construct’ paradigm. Stopgap short term
options including increased reliance on thermal and gas fired power stations
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