Mon May 05 04:40:13 UTC 2025: ## India Halts Water Flow from Dams Amidst Rising Tensions with Pakistan
**NEW DELHI, May 5, 2025** – India has taken the unprecedented step of halting water releases from the Baglihar hydroelectric dam on the Chenab River and is preparing to implement similar measures at the Kishanganga dam on the Jhelum River. This action, according to unnamed sources, allows India to control water flow, effectively suspending aspects of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty.
The move follows a recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people, largely tourists. The Indus Waters Treaty, facilitated by the World Bank in 1960, governs water sharing between India and Pakistan. Both the Baglihar and Kishanganga dams have been sources of contention between the two nations in the past, with Pakistan previously seeking World Bank arbitration regarding Baglihar and raising concerns about Kishanganga’s impact on the Neelum River.
While the official reason for the water release suspension remains unstated, the timing in the wake of the terrorist attack suggests a significant escalation in tensions between the two countries. The long-standing disputes surrounding these dams now appear to be intertwined with the heightened security situation. The implications of this decision for the already strained India-Pakistan relationship, and the future of the Indus Waters Treaty, remain to be seen.
First Piper 