{"id":32890,"date":"2026-06-02T16:06:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=32890"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:06:34","slug":"iwt-violations-by-india-put-aquatic-biodiversity-at-risk-in-kp-punjab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=32890","title":{"rendered":"IWT violations by India put aquatic biodiversity at risk in KP, Punjab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the first rays of sunlight illuminate the banks of the River Indus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, fish farmer Naseer Khan begins another day of work at his fish farm in Swabi district amid growing concerns of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) violations by India that had threatened aquatic biodiversity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the first rays of sunlight illuminate the banks of the River Indus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, fish farmer Naseer Khan begins another day of work at his fish farm in Swabi district amid growing concerns of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) violations by India that had threatened aquatic biodiversity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside the routine of feeding fish and managing ponds, a growing concern weighs heavily on his mind about the potential impact of India\u2019s continued suspension of the 1960 historic Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on Pakistan\u2019s fisheries sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing beside his five-kanal fish farm, Naseer said uninterrupted water flow is critical for sustaining native fish species, particularly the prized Mahseer and trout population, which thrives in the water of the River Kabul and glacier-fed waters of the Indus River system, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMahseer farming depends on clean and continuous river flows,\u201d he told APP. \u201cIf restrictions on western rivers continue, fish populations will decline, affecting thousands of families associated with this trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naseer feared that Mahseer, Rohu, and several other indigenous fish species found in the Indus and Kabul rivers could face serious threats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab if water flows become irregular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe decline of these species would not only hurt fishermen but also create food security challenges for local communities that rely on fish as an affordable source of protein,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Director General Fisheries Department, Ayaz Khattak, warned that Mahseer and trout populations are among the most vulnerable species in the event of prolonged disruptions to river ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf water availability in the western rivers becomes uncertain, how will people associated with the fisheries sector survive?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of fishermen, fish farmers, traders, transporters, and vendors across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa depend on freshwater fish species such as Mahseer, Rohu, Carp, and Trout to meet market demand throughout the year, particularly during wedding seasons and religious festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khattak argued that the continued abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty has created uncertainty among communities whose livelihoods largely depend on river-based resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWater is not merely an economic resource; it is directly linked to food production, nutrition, and livelihoods,\u201d he said. \u201cAny disruption to the ecological balance of rivers can have far-reaching consequences for fisheries, agriculture, and human well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that reduced water availability could affect fish breeding grounds, migration routes, and aquatic biodiversity across Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to fisheries experts, Pakistan\u2019s fisheries sector contributes significantly to rural employment and national income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khattak said that Pakistan exports fish and seafood products to several international markets, including China, Thailand, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFreshwater fish species such as Mahseer and trout have considerable economic value,\u201d he said. \u201cAny decline in their population would affect both domestic markets and export opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official estimates place Pakistan\u2019s total fish production at approximately 790,000 tonnes annually, including around 510,000 tonnes from marine capture fisheries and nearly 280,000 tonnes from inland fisheries and aquaculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sector contributes about 0.31 percent to the national GDP and provides direct and indirect employment to nearly one million people across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IWT, signed in 1960 between Pakistan\u2019s President Field Marshal Ayub Khan and India\u2019s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, has long been regarded as one of the most durable water-sharing agreements in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts believed that any weakening of the treaty framework could have consequences extending far beyond diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Dr. Ejaz Khan, former Chairman of the Department of International Relations at the University of Peshawar, described water security as a matter of national survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is about food security, livelihoods, and the future of millions of Pakistanis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNearly 80 percent of Pakistan\u2019s agriculture depends on the Indus Basin irrigation system. Any uncertainty regarding water flows affects crops, livestock, fisheries, and ultimately the entire economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Ejaz argued that disruptions in river flows could reduce agricultural productivity, damage fisheries habitats, and increase pressure on already vulnerable rural communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWater shortages would not only affect wheat, rice, sugarcane, and vegetables but could also threaten fish species that depend on stable river ecosystems,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental experts cautioned that fish species such as Mahseer and brown trout are highly sensitive to changes in water quality, temperature, and flow patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMahseer cannot survive in polluted or severely disrupted aquatic environments,\u201d Dr. Ayaz said. \u201cIf the rivers that flow in the Indus, Jhelum, or Chenab are restricted or significantly altered, breeding cycles could be disturbed, leading to population declines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that cold-water species such as brown trout, which inhabit the rivers and streams of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and northern Pakistan, require stable temperatures and consistent water availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA sudden reduction or fluctuation in water flow can destroy spawning grounds and threaten entire fish populations,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts also pointed to growing environmental pressures from pollution and climate change, which are already affecting river ecosystems in districts such as Charsadda, Nowshera, and Peshawar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDisrupt one river, and you destabilize the entire ecological chain,\u201d Khattak remarked. \u201cThe consequences extend from fish populations to birds, wildlife, agriculture, and human communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts believed that prolonged uncertainty over water resources could intensify existing challenges related to food production and rural poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agricultural lands across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir rely heavily on the Indus Basin system for irrigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruit orchards producing mangoes, citrus, peaches, bananas, and watermelons also depend on stable water supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For farmers, beekeepers, livestock owners, and fishermen already struggling with rising production costs, even modest disruptions in water availability can have a significant impact on their incomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not merely a diplomatic dispute,\u201d Dr. Ejaz emphasized. \u201cIt has the potential to evolve into a broader food security challenge if water resources become increasingly uncertain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts stressed that the glacier-fed rivers originating from the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges sustain millions of people across Pakistan. Any prolonged disruption to these water systems, they warned, could place additional pressure on agriculture, fisheries, and vulnerable rural communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As concerns mount among fish farmers like Naseer Khan, communities dependent on Pakistan\u2019s river systems continue to watch developments closely, hoping that uninterrupted water flows will preserve both their livelihoods and the country\u2019s valuable aquatic biodiversity for future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/www.app.com.pk\/features\/iwt-violations-by-india-put-aquatic-biodiversity-at-risk-in-kp-punjab\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the first rays of sunlight illuminate the banks of the River Indus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, fish farmer Naseer Khan begins another day of work at his fish farm in Swabi district amid growing concerns of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) violations by India that had threatened aquatic biodiversity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As the first rays […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4864,20149,28829,24128,1125,28265,29895,24311,24991,483,24129,29894],"class_list":["post-32890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-agriculture-2","tag-drought-2","tag-floods-2","tag-hydropower-2","tag-india-2","tag-india-weaponizing-water","tag-indian-violations-of-iwt","tag-irrigation-3","tag-iwt-3","tag-pakistan-2","tag-water-resources-2","tag-water-sharing-agreement-2","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32892,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32890\/revisions\/32892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}