I Don’t Think IWT Should Have Been Suspended but I’ll Go Along With Government

I Don’t Think IWT Should Have Been Suspended but I’ll Go Along With Government – Sharat Sabharwal

1 week ago 19

Personally I don't think IWT should have been suspended but I'll go along with the government: Sharat Sabharwal, former High Commissioner to Pakistan & author of 'India's Pakistan Conundrum' to Karan Thapar for The Wire .......................................... In a candid and outspoken interview, one of India’s most highly regarded former High Commissioners to Pakistan has said that in his “personal opinion” the Indus Water Treaty should not have been put in abeyance. Sharat Sabharwal, who was High Commissioner in Pakistan from 2009 to 2013, said: “I don’t think this is a step that should be taken”. However, Mr. Sabharwal added that he was now willing to “go along” with the government. He believes the placing of Indus Water Treaty in abeyance has created “psychological” pressure on the Pakistan government. However, Mr. Sabharwal, who is the author of ‘India’s Pakistan Conundrum: Managing a Complex Relationship’, said that India’s previous military strikes against Pakistan in 2016 and 2019 have not succeeded in changing Pakistan’s behaviour. As he put it there’s “no enduring change in Pakistan’s behaviour”. He also said “Pakistan has so far shown no change in its behaviour”. Speaking in greater detail about India’s decision to put IWT in abeyance, Mr. Sabharwal said this has created anxiety and fear in Pakistan. It also means that to a limited extent India can affect and alter the seasonal flow of water and also deny hydrological data. But the former would only be to a fairly limited extent. However, Mr. Sabharwal agreed that India cannot at this point divert or stop the waters of the western rivers flowing to Pakistan because we simply don’t have the dams, reservoirs and storage facilities that would enable us to do this. It would take years to construct them. Speaking specifically about Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil’s claim “we will ensure that not even a drop of water from the Indus River goes to Pakistan”, Mr. Sabharwal said this should be understood rhetorically and not literally because, the truth is, it’s impossible to stop all water flowing to Pakistan. I will stop there. There’s a lot more in this 35-minute interview. It discusses the significant measures the two countries have taken against each other as well as India’s attempts to convince major countries of Pakistan’s guilt and to alter their attitude and policies towards Pakistan. The interview discusses in detail the possibility and prospects of military action. It’s in that context that it goes on to discuss how effective India’s earlier military strikes have been both in terms of their results and in terms of deterring Pakistan. There are few people who understand Pakistan better than Mr. Sabharwal and I recommend that you see this interview. Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWtJey46brNr7qHQpN6KLQ/join

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