ISLAMABAD, June 1, 2025: India has drastically curtailed the flow of water from the Chenab River into Pakistan. On Saturday, the Pakistan Commission of Indus Waters (PCIW) alerted the authorities to the sharp decline in the flow of water from India, plummeting 91,000 cusecs in a single day.
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This is the second time in one month when India has restricted water flow to Pakistan. Before this, on May 1, 2025, amidst the hostile conditions between India and Pakistan, the water flow to Pakistan was virtually stopped.
Indian Prime Minister Modi had threatened Pakistan with the words that “blood and water cannot flow together,” to which Pakistan armed force spokesperson had fittingly replied, “If you stop Pakistan’s water, we will stop your breathing.” Despite these verbal barbs being traded between the two nuclear neighbors, the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 continues to remain unilaterally suspended by India.
Today, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff General Sahir Shamshad Mirza also highlighted, at an international platform, that using water as weapon is a blatant violation of international laws.
Yesterday, however, this marked decline in water flow from 105,200 cusecs to a mere 4,800 cusecs raised alarm bells in Pakistan. The Ministry of Water Resources told media outlets that this level of fluctuation in water levels goes far beyond typical seasonal or operational variations. By Sunday, the water levels appeared to stabilize after the steep drop. Prior to this, on Friday, Pakistan had received approximately 110,000 cusecs from the river.
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Such abrupt changes pose serious risks to Pakistan’s agriculture, particularly in the rice-producing areas of Central Punjab. For now, on the request of the Punjab government, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had increased water release from the Mangla Dam. But if that channel is kept active, it could potentially interfere with the reservoir’s own storage targets.
