Dear Prime Minister,

I would like to draw your attention to the remarks made by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on April 22 in the National Assembly. In that speech, he stated that Pakistan cannot take any legal action against India’s “water aggression” in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and that India maintains the right to water from the River Ravi under a legally binding treaty.

The law minister’s ignorance and the Indian move to completely stop the flow of the Ravi River into Pakistan may mean death to Lahore’s groundwater in its vicinity. This will happen because the recently constructed Shahpur Kandi dam allows India to keep 1150 cubic seconds of water previously headed for Pakistan. Apparently, the Minister didn’t consult these reports before offering a blanket statement.

Dear Prime Minister,

I shall request the Law Minister to review the historical flow data of the river below the Indo-Pak border for information, as it indicates that the average annual flow in Ravi has varied between 1.1 and 2.2 MAF between 2000 and 2023. Even so, this flow is insufficient. Due to Lahore’s extraordinary population growth, the water level is already decreasing by 2 to 3 feet annually. What would happen if Lahore, the 26th-largest city in the world with a population of over 15 million, runs out of water if the river’s water supply is cut off? I think the law minister cannot imagine this scenario.

It was expected that a rapid decrease in the groundwater level of Lahore which is directly proportional to the flow in the Ravi River Pakistan’s ministries would have demanded India ensure the minimum environmental flow as per the formula that India agreed to in the court of arbitration in Kishanganga Arbitration for Naleem River. But it didn’t happen because of the criminal silence of both ministries.

The minister ignored – wilfully or otherwise – legitimate mathematical and scientific facts that the Ravi River is estimated to contribute more than 80% of the recharge Lahore aquifer, according to several studies, including the World Bank Report – “Groundwater in Pakistan’s Indus Basin Present and Future Prospects,” that refers to and substantiates earlier detailed report WWF’s report titled “Situation Analysis of the Water Resources of Lahore” Apparently, the. Another two credible Pakistan Atomic Energy and Paper no Paper No. 749 Pakistan Engineering Congress also have almost similar conclusions. I am sure the Minister didn’t consult these reports before offering a blanket statement. I would like to bring to Minister Law’s attention that this is the same World Bank that mediated the 1960 Indus Water Treaty and created this groundwater report.

Whether deliberate or not, it would appear plausible to conclude that the Minister did not carefully read the Court of Arbitration’s ruling in the Indus Waters Kishanganga Arbitration (Pakistan v. India; 2013). Interpreting the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, the court acknowledged that the duty to prevent transboundary environmental harm was a component of general international law, and hence ordered India to release a minimum environmental flow through its dam into the Naleem River.

I request you herewith to instruct both relevant ministries to thoroughly review the ruling of the Indian National Green Tribunal dated August 9, 2017. This ruling states that all rivers in the country must maintain an environmental flow of 15% to 20% of their average lean season flow. The Minister Law and his huge brigade, it seems, have entirely overlooked that international water laws now encompass many fundamental environmental concepts and methodologies.

Would you kindly remind the Law Minister Law to go through the statement that the Indian delegation presented at the sixth committee of the 68th United Nations General Assembly concerning agenda item 87? This statement addresses the law of transboundary aquifers and will be sufficient to bring India to its knees, unlike what the minister said in the National Assembly; his statement implied that giving India control over the environmental flow of the Ravi River was the only option available to address this disastrous decision, short of unconditional surrender.

Dear Prime Minister,

Can you kindly ask the minister to brief you and the nation about the three cases at the International Court of Justice—Hungary v. Slovakia in 1997, Argentina v. Uruguay in 2010, and Nicaragua v. Costa Rica in 2015? In these cases, the Court upheld the principle of preventing transboundary environmental harm—. These are sufficient to hold India accountable for this disastrous decision.

What effects will this unconditional surrender to India have on the economy? Minister Law might not have imagined this. I would like to cite a statement made by Member IRSA in the Pakistani Senate during the third week of 2020. He informed the Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources in his recorded statement that four million acres of land could be irrigated with one million acre-feet (MAF) of water on average, and that the water’s economic value was estimated to be $1 billion. What is the opportunity cost of environmental flow in millions of acre-feet? Additionally, it seems to me that Minister Law killed the Special Investment Facilitation Council of Pakistan’s mission, which prioritizes agriculture above all other sectors. A huge setback to the already collapsing national economy. However, I’m more concerned about what the GOP would be perceived as by international financial institutions given that his Pakistani Law Minister is presenting the world’s largest economy with gifts worth billions of dollars every year.

Dear Prime Minister,

I am ready to help with any technical needs for the country in this crucial case. We will not and MUST NOT give up our legal rights and will pursue every international forum until the Ravi River’s historical flow is restored, even if your ministries are unwilling to fight the legal battle for the river’s environmental flows.

We, the peaceful people of Pakistan will fight to the last drop of our for every drop of legitimate water of the Ravi River. Therefore, please direct the Ministry of Law and Foreign Affairs to take up this case at all international forums before it is too late.

Sincerely,
Engineer Arshad H Abbasi Member BOG CRSS-Islamabad