India described Pakistan's allegations of stealing water as "preposterous and completely unwarranted". Pakistan has alleged that India is stealing its share of river waters and waging a water war, saying it is "scrupulously" providing Pakistan its share of water in line with the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.
Addressing an event in Karachi, Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal said the reduced flow of river waters into Pakistan are not the result of any "violation of Indus Waters Treaty by India or any action on our part to divert such flows or to use more than our assigned share of water from Western Rivers".
"Water issue between India and Pakistan is spoken of as an issue whose resolution is essential to build peace between our two countries.
"Preposterous and completely unwarranted allegations of 'stealing water' and waging a 'water war' are being made against India," Sabharwal told the event organised by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations and Pakistan-India Citizens Friendship Forum.
"Such accusations bear no relation whatsoever to the reality on the ground. The fact is that India has been scrupulously providing Pakistan its share of water in keeping with the Indus Waters Treaty," he said.
Differences over the sharing of river waters have emerged as a major irritant in bilateral relations over the past few years. Pakistan even raised its concerns in this regard during its recent strategic dialogue with the US.
Sabharwal pointed out that India itself suffered serious drought conditions last year, with around 250 districts bearing the brunt of drought.
Rainfall during the monsoons was 20 percent less than normal countrywide, with many states in the north experiencing a much higher percentage of shortfall.
He also said water flows in rivers depend on melting of snow and quantum of rainfall, and the quantum of water in the Western Rivers varies from year to year, "dipping in certain years and recovering in some subsequent years".
Sabharwal pointed out that the flow of the Chenab, after entering Pakistan, had dipped from 48,242 cusecs in 1999 to 22,991 cusecs in 2008.
"We have never hindered water flows to which Pakistan is entitled, not even during the wars of 1965 and 1971 as well as other periods of tense relations and we have no intention of doing so," Sabharwal said.
"Those who allege that India is acquiring the capacity to withhold Pakistan's share of water completely ignore the fact that this would require a storage and diversion canals network on a large scale. Such a network simply does not exist and figures nowhere in our plans," he added.
Sabharwal made it clear that the Indus Waters Treaty does not require India to "deliver any stipulated quantities of water to Pakistan" and instead, it requires India to "let flow to Pakistan the water available in these rivers, excluding the limited use permitted to India by the Treaty".
The Indian envoy also dismissed Pakistan's complaint that India has not been regularly providing data of water flows, saying the two countries exchange daily data on about "600 Gauge and Discharge sites on a monthly basis".
He added: "India has been fulfilling its obligation in providing this data." Referring to allegations in the Pakistani media about India building "hundreds" of dams and hydroelectric projects to "deny Pakistan its share of water", Sabharwal said: "This does not correspond to the reality on the ground. There are no quantitative limits on the hydroelectricity that India can produce using the Western Rivers".
He said there is also no limit to the number of run-of- the river projects that India can build.
"However, India has so far undertaken a limited number of projects. We have provided information to Pakistan.... in respect of 33 projects. Out of these, 14 are in operation, 13 are under construction, two are still at the proposal stage, three have been dropped or deferred and work on one project stands suspended."
Twenty-two other projects have been identified for implementation in the coming years, he said.
The Treaty requires India to provide certain "specified technical information to Pakistan at least six months" before beginning the construction of river works for a hydroelectric or storage project and India has been meeting this obligation too, he said.
One such project was the Tulbul Navigation scheme, on which India unilaterally stopped work in October 1986 as a "gesture of goodwill".
Sabharwal described as a "piece of misinformation" that a dam and hydroelectric project is being built by the Afghan government on the Kabul River with India's assistance and this would adversely affect flows of this river to Pakistan. "I would like to inform you that there is no truth in this allegation," he said.
Describing the Indus Waters Treaty as an "example of mutually beneficial cooperation between India and Pakistan for the last 50 years", Sabharwal said the pact has withstood the test of time.
He said the Permanent Indus Commission should be used more effectively and could even function in the "nature of a consultative dispute avoidance body".
