By Muhammad Luqman

India's continued refusal to promptly share flood data and information on water releases from its dams during the monsoon season is undermining Pakistan's flood management efforts and raising concerns about compliance with international obligations governing transboundary rivers, water experts say.

"India never communicated with Pakistan about the recent opening of the gates of the Salal Dam in occupied Jammu," Pakistan's Indus Water Commissioner, Syed Mehr Ali Shah, told Wealth Pakistan.

He said Pakistan has already submitted India's alleged violations of international law to the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

"Pakistan has fully apprised the court of India's weaponization of water," he added.

India announced the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in April last year. Signed in 1960, the treaty has remained in force for more than six decades despite two full-scale wars and the 1999 Kargil conflict.

In May this year, however, the Permanent Court of Arbitration reaffirmed the continued validity of the treaty, ruling that India could not unilaterally suspend it. The tribunal held that the treaty remains legally binding on both countries and rejected the argument that either party could withdraw from or suspend the agreement without mutual consent.

Former Indus Water Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah said Pakistan should formally raise every instance of non-sharing of flood-related information with the Office of the Indian Water Commissioner to ensure that all alleged treaty violations are properly documented.

He said Pakistan should also rely more on historical flood data to improve forecasting and issue timely warnings.

"It is high time that Pakistan's flood forecasting experts should make better use of historical flood data for this part of the world. It can help improve the accuracy of forecasts and enable timely warnings," he said.

Jamaat Ali Shah said Pakistan could reduce flood-related losses by strengthening embankments, improving pre-flood inspections and enhancing other flood protection measures.

"It seems that India is not going to change its stance, at least for the time being. We have to reposition ourselves according to the changing realities," he said.

He noted that the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has extensive knowledge of the catchment areas of the western and eastern rivers in occupied Kashmir and northern India.

According to him, the PMD can obtain precipitation data for these catchments through collaboration under the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), allowing it to estimate water flows before extreme weather events.

"The volume of water generated by rainfall across the border can be estimated through weather models developed by the World Meteorological Organization and used by the PMD," he said.

Jamaat Ali Shah said strengthening Pakistan's own flood management systems remains essential regardless of India's cooperation.

"Flood management and inter-departmental coordination have always been more important in Pakistan than access to real-time data," he said.

He added that Pakistan should continue to strengthen its flood management capacity in view of India's current position on data sharing.

Credit: INP-WealthPk