Recently, international affairs scholar Victor Gao accepted an interview from Pakistan's national television station (PTV) and said: "I was deeply shocked when India decided to cut off the water supply to Pakistan. If the water supply is cut off, it will bring great difficulties to hundreds of millions of people in Pakistan."

"As far as I know, Pakistan and India have reached agreements or even treaties on how to allocate the water resources of these important rivers. If India insists on doing this regardless of its treaty obligations and international law, I will be very worried."

Viktor Gao said that he had stated in an interview with Indian TV that such behavior by India might be considered a war crime and could also be regarded as a crime against humanity.

Viktor Gao suggested: "We need to reach an agreement among China, India, and Pakistan. No country should be allowed to violate international obligations or common treaty obligations and cut off the water supply in these rivers. If one country decides to cut off the water supply to another downstream country, then an upstream third-party country has the obligation to handle the violation of that country."

He added that this might make the treaties on water resource allocation in South Asia more reasonable and predictable, because no one should be allowed to forcibly cut off the water supply and deprive downstream countries and their people of the right to use upstream water resources.

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During this round of India-Pakistan conflict, the sluices of two hydropower stations located in the upper region of the Chenab River - Baglihar and Salal - were closed by India to cut off the water supply to downstream areas.

Before deciding to close the sluices, the Indian government suspended the Indus Waters Treaty signed with Pakistan. According to the Indus Waters Treaty, India is obligated to notify Pakistan before making any significant interventions in rivers like the Chenab.

Due to heavy rainfall causing water levels to rise, in order to control the pressure inside the dams, the central government of India opened two sluices at Baglihar Hydropower Station and three sluices at Salal Hydropower Station on May 8th.

Pakistan relies on over 90% of its agricultural water on the Indus River system, most of which originates in the upper Indian-controlled Kashmir region. According to the Indus Waters Treaty, India retains the rights to the water resources of the eastern rivers: Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, while Pakistan has obtained the majority of the rights to the western rivers: Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, but allows India to use part of the water for agriculture and to build run-of-the-river dams for hydroelectric power generation.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif previously warned that water resources are Pakistan's vital national interests, and Pakistan will not compromise on core issues. In case of infringement on water resources, Pakistan will fully retaliate with military action.

This article is an exclusive article from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506153325944160808/

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