Screws tighten on Pakistan: Curb on water flow through Baglihar; crackdown on ships, trade

The testing wasn’t lost on India. Turning the heat on Islamabad, the government put into effect a crucial next step as part of  putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance.

The gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam have been lowered to restrict water flow to Pakistan’s Punjab as a “short-term punitive action,” a senior official told The Indian Express.

The Baglihar dam, over Chenab river, is designed as a run-of-the-river plant for hydro power generation. Chenab is one of the western rivers in the Indus Water system and the treaty allows for harnessing its waters for power generation.

“By doing this, even if the choke is for a short while, we demonstrate that we will take coercive steps… The Chenab river water irrigates Punjab farmlands, and Pakistan needs to realise we mean to punish them on all fronts,” the official said.

This may not be done in isolation – similar action in the Kishanganga dam on the Jhelum river may also be in the offing, he said.

Pakistan tested its surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a 450-km range on Saturday. The missile, known as the Abdali Weapon System, was tested as part of its military drill “Exercise Indus.”

The test, conducted at the Sonmiani Ranges, was likely part of an operational user trial conducted under the Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC), which handles Pakistan’s nuclear-capable missiles.

An official in Delhi called it a “reckless act of provocation and a dangerous escalation by Pakistan in its hostile campaign against India.”

Sources said that since the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan has been “frantically issuing naval warnings, ramping up drills in the Arabian Sea, and has indulged in continuous ceasefire violations along the LoC”.

“This planned missile test, under such volatile conditions, is nothing short of a blatant provocation and a desperate attempt to whip up tensions with India,” the official said.

Unveiling its second set of measures, India Saturday also suspended exchange of all categories of mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes.

The order suspending the services was issued by the Department of Posts that operates under the Ministry of Communication.

India’s next move, hours later, was to ban the docking of ships bearing the flag of Pakistan at ports in the country. It also said that no Indian-flagged vessel would visit any ports in Pakistan.

The first set of measures had targeted the Indus Water Treaty, scrapped all visas, sent back all Pak nationals (except for the long-term visas), reduced the strength of the Pakistan High Commission by almost half, closed the Attari border, and sent back defence officials in the Pak mission. India had also banned some YouTube channels of Pakistan TV and journalists.

India and Pakistan have also shut their respective airspaces to each other’s airlines and suspended all trade with India, including through third countries this week.

Citing “cross-border linkages” to the April 22 attack, India has promised severe punishment to those involved in the strike.

In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week had asserted that the armed forces have “complete operational freedom” to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India’s response to the terror attack.