China has made plans to speed up work on a “flagship” dam in Pakistan to relieve pressure on its all-weather ally, weeks after India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pahalgam terror attack, as per a media report. China announced a speeding up of its effort to build a key dam project in Pakistan only weeks after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam terror attack, the South China Morning Post reported.
State-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation has been constructing the Mohmand Hydropower Project in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2019. Initially due for completion in 2026, the project is being accelerated. On Saturday, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said concrete filling of the dam has begun, describing it as a “critical construction milestone” and the start of a sped-up development phase for what it called a “national flagship project” of Pakistan.
The move comes on the eve of a visit by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to Beijing on Monday when he will meet with China’s senior diplomat Wang Yi. China’s action came after the decision by India to put on hold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty following the bloody militant attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22.
The Mohmand dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is planned as a multi-purpose project for power generation, flood control, irrigation and water supply and is planned to produce an estimated 800MW of hydropower and provide 300 million gallons per day of potable water to Peshawar, the provincial capital and largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan enjoys access to Indus and Chenab and Jhelum river waters, while India has the right to access those from the eastern Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers. The rivers’ waters make up approximately 80 per cent of drinking and irrigation sources for Pakistan. Days after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India notified Pakistan that it was suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with immediate effect, alleging Pakistan has violated the treaty terms.
