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Pak-Afghan Water Issue: A Case for Benefit-Sharing
Abstract
Despite being intertwined by geographical, linguistic, regional, religious and ethnic knots, Pakistan and Afghanistan have experienced upheavals in their bilateral relations. Changing regional and international political interests have further complicated their relations. Besides confronting traditional security challenges, Pakistan and Afghanistan are facing a severe non-traditional security threat, i.e., the issue of shared waters without any regulatory mechanism. Despite efforts of international organizations in the past, both countries have failed to reach an agreement over the shared waters. Currently, they are following a unilateral water strategy. Afghanistan-India joint water projects further complicate the situation as Pakistan is already facing issues with the latter due to the increasing number of Indian projects on western rivers. Though water may be critical for the recovery of Afghanistan's agriculture based economy, the projects on Kabul River may have serious implications on downstream irrigation and initiatives, the ecology and bilateral relations between the two riparian countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Linked closely to the conflicts among states and societies, water as an environmental security issue must be dealt with the same urgency as traditional security challenges. This paper analyzes the security perceptions in Pakistan and Afghanistan and contends that the probability of a future conflict over shared water has not been duly attended. There is a need to develop an integrated mechanism based on the fundamental principle of benefit-sharing instead of dividing waters or any unilateral decisions.
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Footnotes
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Ibid.
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Ibid.
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Hulpachova and Macbeth, Orphan River: Water Management of the Kabul River Basin in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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“Modi Threatens to Use Water as Weapon against Pakistan,” Dawn, November 26, 2016 https://www.dawn.com/news/1298707/. Indian PM, Narendra Modi has threatened to use water as a weapon against Pakistan in Nov, 2016 he said, “Now every drop of this water [of the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej] will be stopped and I will give that to the farmers of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. I am committed to this,” he added. “The water is India's right [but it’s] flowing into Pakistan and going [to] waste into the sea”.
Ullah and Zulfiqar, “Transboundary Water Issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
Hulpachova and Macbeth, Orphan River: Water Management of the Kabul River Basin in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pervaz and Khan, “Brewing Conflict over Kabul River: Policy Options for Legal Framework.”
Ullah and Zulfiqar, “Transboundary Water Issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
Hulpachova and Macbeth, Orphan River: Water Management of the Kabul River Basin in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ibid.
Bilal Khalid, Benefit of Sharing on Kabul River Basin: Afghanistan-Pakistan Stakeholders Consultations, report (Islamabad: Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Pakistan, 2018), http://www.lead.org.pk/attachments/Pak-Afghan-Stakeholders-Consultation.pdf.
Mahmood, “Prospects for Benefit Sharing in the Trans-Boundary Kabul River Basin: Investigating the Social, Economic and Political Opportunities and Constraints.”
Ibid.
Such as 1992 Convention, 1997 UN Convention, Madrid Declaration, Helsinki Rules, Berlin Rules.