China has said it was accelerating work on a “flagship” dam in Pakistan in the wake of India’s recent threats to cut off water supplies.
The state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation has been working on the Mohmand Hydropower Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan since 2019.
The project was scheduled to be completed next year. On Saturday state broadcaster CCTV reported that concrete filling on the dam had started, marking “a critical construction milestone and a phase of accelerated development for this national flagship project of Pakistan”.
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The project officially began in September 2019, and was scheduled to be completed next year.
The Chinese statement followed India’s announcement that it would suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with its neighbour, in response to a deadly militant attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22
The suspension of the treaty has left Pakistan facing water security risks, as the country reportedly relies on the Indus river system for about 80 per cent of its agriculture.
Islamabad said it would consider “any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan” to be an “act of war” and it would respond “with full force across the complete spectrum of national power”.
“Water is a vital national interest of Pakistan, a lifeline for its 240 million people and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs,” the government said.
Last week, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire following a series of clashes following a terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people. India has accused Pakistan of sheltering militant groups – charges Islamabad has rejected.
Reuters reported on Friday that India was considering plans to increase dramatically the water it draws from the Indus river, as part of retaliatory action for last month’s attack.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered officials to expedite planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers, the report said.
Under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan has the rights to the waters of the Indus and its westernmost tributaries, the Jhelum and Chenab, while India is entitled to use those from the eastern Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers.
India’s vast network of dams includes the Bhakra Nangal, the largest on the rivers governed by the Indus Waters Treaty.
Pakistan’s systems of food production leave it vulnerable to disruptions in water flow and its farmers are still reeling from the 2022 “superfloods” that devastated crops and livestock.
The Mohmand dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is designed to serve as a multi-purpose facility for power generation, flood control, irrigation and water supply.
It will generate an estimated 800MW of hydropower and supply 300 million gallons a day of drinking water to Peshawar, the capital and largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
China and Pakistan have a diplomatic partnership dating back over seven decades, and Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan’s physical infrastructure under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a critical part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
The infrastructure projects also include the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, which is under construction on the Indus River and aims to improve Pakistan’s water storage capacity.
Despite its close ties with Pakistan, China has taken a cautious stance on the recent conflict, urging its two neighbours to exercise restraint in the interests of regional “peace and stability”.
However, it has a long-standing partnership with Pakistan, which it describes as an “ironclad brotherhood” and is one of the country’s main suppliers of arms.
Meanwhile it has a series of unresolved border disputes with India, which prompted a deadly skirmish in the Galwan Valley in 2020.
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