Angered By Terror Attack, India Sidesteps Treaty To Flush Kashmir Dams

India-West News Desk

SRINAGAR – An angry India has now begun executing measures it had previously sought to pursue through arbitration—starting work to enhance reservoir capacity at two hydroelectric projects in Kashmir.

This marks a significant shift, as India moves unilaterally on actions traditionally governed by the Indus Waters Treaty, a landmark water-sharing agreement it has abided by with Pakistan since 1960, despite numerous military standoffs.

Following a deadly terror attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people—two of the three attackers were identified as Pakistani—New Delhi last month suspended the treaty that guarantees water flow to 80% of Pakistan’s agricultural land.

In the aftermath, India launched a “reservoir flushing” operation on May 1, Reuters reported and social media uploads show, to clear sediment at the Salal and Baglihar hydroelectric plants. The work is being carried out by the state-run NHPC Ltd and authorities in Jammu and Kashmir.

This process, which involves discharging sediment-laden water downstream followed by a temporary reduction in flow as reservoirs refill, could eventually impact downstream supplies if replicated at other facilities. Though immediate effects on Pakistan’s water availability may be limited, broader consequences loom as more than six similar projects exist in the region.

Notably, India did not notify Pakistan about the flushing at Salal and Baglihar—something it had avoided doing since their construction in 1987 and 2008–09 due to its abidance of the treaty. But the recent terror attack has prompted India to assert that the circumstances have fundamentally changed.