Tag: Kashmir

Pakistan: diversion of Indus waters ‘act of war’

IndusPakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the United Nations General Assembly regarding the dispute with India over shared waters of the Indus River and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Sharif told the Assembly that any attempt by India to stop, impede or divert Pakistan's share of the Indus River waters "will be treated as an act of war." He further stated that India’s unilateral decision to hold the IWT in "abeyance" following last year's militant attacks in Kashmir had "no legal basis whatsoever." India has already restricted the flow of water for periods through dams on Indus tributaries that are apportioned to Pakistan by the treaty. (Photo: Heartography/Pixabay via Jurist)

Victory for Pakistan in Indus waters dispute

IndusIn a monumental win for Pakistan, a panel of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) held that India must honor a nearly 70-year-old water treaty between the two nations. The court said that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty remains legally binding and that no party may unilaterally suspend or terminate it, despite the armed conflict that broke out between India and Pakistan last year. The treaty places limits on hydro-electric development by India on Indus tributaries designated for use by Pakistan, and the panel ordered one such project halted. However, India has explicitly rejected the authority of the PCA in the matter. India and Pakistan have long been at odds over the territory of Kashmir, through which the Indus flows from its Himalayan headwaters. (Map: Keenan Pepper via Wikimedia Commons)

Unrest erupts in Azad Kashmir

MuzaffarabadThe politically volatile region of Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu Kashmir has once again plunged into a crisis of civil unrest. Local protests over government plans to drop subsidies for wheat and electricity rapidly transformed into a broader movement demanding comprehensive reform and regional ecomic relief. The demonstrations have pressured the government into negotiations and legal concessions, after initial harsh repression only further fueled public dissent. (Photo of Muzaffarabad via Wikimedia Commons)

India: deadly repression at Ladakh pro-autonomy protest

KashmirAmnesty International urged Indian authorities to promptly and independently investigate the use of live fire during protests in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh, one day after at least four people were reported killed and more than 50 injured. Clashes erupted as demonstrators pressed long-standing demands for statehood and constitutional protections for land and jobs. Police said they responded after the crowd turned violent, with vehicles and a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party office set ablaze, and claimed officers fired in self-defense. Authorities imposed a curfew in Leh and restricted mobile internet services. (Map via Wikipedia)

Subcontinent tensions mount after Balochistan blast

BaluchistanA suicide attack on bus serving an army-run school in Pakistan's Balochistan province killed five people, three of them children. Islamabad, which faces accusations it was involved in last month's attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, quickly pointed the finger at neighboring India and Afghanistan. Both New Delhi and Kabul have denied the allegations. Balochistan has been the subject of a decades-long armed struggle for autonomy. Ethnic Baloch communities have accused Pakistani authorities of disenfranchisement, neglect and forced disappearances. (Map via Atheer)

Delhi’s suspension of Indus treaty imperils regional stability

IndusA militant attack at Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir left at least 26 people dead, including Indian and foreign tourists. The incident prompted an immediate and strong response from the Indian government, which blamed the attack on Pakistan-based groups. Within a day, India announced that it was suspending the Indus Waters Treaty—a World Bank-brokered agreement signed in 1960 that governs the use and distribution of waters in the Indus River basin between the two countries. The treaty includes no provision for unilateral suspension or termination, and diplomatic tensions escalated following India's move. The implications extend to water security within Pakistan, and it may mean intensification of domestic inter-provincial tensions over water sharing. (Photo: Heartography/Pixabay via Jurist)

Uprising in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir

AJKThree protesters were killed and six injured as Pakistani security forces fired on crowds during angry street demonstrations in Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). The paramilitary Rangers were mobilized to Muzaffarabad after a police officer was killed amid protests over high food, fuel and electricity prices. A "wheel-jam and shutter-down" strike had been called by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), but was called off as Islamabad agreed to a Rs 23 billion ($86 million) subsidy for the region. The new deadly violence erupted just as the Rangers were starting to withdraw from Muzaffarabad. A curfew remains in place in the city. (Photo of vigil for slain protesters via Twitter)

India: army investigates civilian deaths in Kashmir

KashmirThe Indian army initiated an investigation into the deaths of three civilians in the Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir territory. The individuals were reportedly in army custody following a militant attack that claimed the lives of four soldiers. In the aftermath of the attack, the army detained eight civilians from Topa Pir village in Poonch for questioning. Residents allege that the civilians were arbitrarily picked up and denied communication with their families. Their bodies were discovered under mysterious circumstances near the Pakistan border. The affair has led to outrage and protests in the already volatile region. (Photo: Kashmir Global via Nationalia)

Podcast: Himalayan fault lines in BRICS

LACIn Episode 189 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes that despite all the tankie pseudo-left enthusiasm for the BRICS summit in South Africa, the notion of a unified bloc against Western hegemony is illusory. The Johannesburg confab was immediately followed by a diplomatic spat between China and India, sparked by Beijing's release of an official map of the territory of the People's Republic—showing two Himalayan enclaves claimed by India as Chinese territory: Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh, which have both been the scene of border skirmishes in recent years. The map also shows an island in the Amur River, by mutual agreement half controlled by Russia, as entirely Chinese. Moscow, depending on China's acquiescence in the Ukraine war, has lodged no protest over this. But the border disputes between nuclear-armed India and China have the potential to escalate to the unthinkable. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Map: CIA via Wikipedia)

UN court to rule on Indus River dispute

IndusThe Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague dismissed India's objections concerning its authority to address the ongoing Indus River disputes between India and Pakistan. The ruling reinstates a case that had been impeded for several years. Pakistan asserts that India's proposed hydroelectric energy projects will substantially diminish the Indus' flow, negatively affecting Pakistani agriculture. Pakistan initiated legal proceedings against India in 2016, seeking arbitration to address the issue. India raised objections regarding the jurisdiction of the PCA. (Photo: Heartography/Pixabay via Jurist)