New Delhi: Amid escalating diplomatic tensions, India extended a rare goodwill gesture to Pakistan by alerting Islamabad about potential flooding in the Tawi River. The information was conveyed through the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, as the regular Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) mechanism remains suspended following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.
This marks the first time India has used its diplomatic mission to share such hydrological data with Pakistan. Traditionally, such alerts are exchanged through the Indus Water Commissioners under the decades-old treaty.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 with World Bank mediation, governs the sharing of river waters between the two nations. It allocates the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India and the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan, while allowing limited usage for both sides.
However, India suspended the data-sharing mechanism after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese citizen were killed. As a punitive measure, New Delhi announced that the treaty would remain in abeyance, halting water-level data exchanges that had traditionally helped Pakistan issue timely flood warnings during the monsoon season.
Following India’s alert about rising water levels in the Tawi River, Pakistani authorities issued advisories to residents on Sunday. The information proved crucial as heavy monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc across the country.
Pakistan is grappling with one of its worst monsoon disasters in years. Since June 26, relentless rains have claimed at least 788 lives and injured more than 1,000 people. Among the dead are 200 children and 117 women.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) figures reveal the highest toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (469 deaths), followed by Punjab (165), Sindh (51), Gilgit-Baltistan (45), Balochistan (24), Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (23) and Islamabad (8).
On the Indian side, Jammu and Kashmir Jal Shakti Minister Javed Ahmed Rana has directed round-the-clock monitoring of major rivers, including the Indus basin’s Jhelum, Ravi and Tawi. Advisories have been issued to keep residents away from water bodies and landslide-prone areas, with forecasts warning of heavy rainfall, flash floods, landslides and possible cloudbursts till August 27.
The move to share data outside the treaty framework is being seen as a rare gesture of goodwill amid worsening ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours. It also comes just months after a brief military standoff in May, underlining the fragile nature of India-Pakistan relations.
