India Flushes Salal & Baglihar Dams After Pahalgam Terror Attack; Sends Stern Warning to Pakistan
SRINAGAR/SHIMLA: Continuing its diplomatic and strategic retaliation following the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 Indian tourists, the Modi government had suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan.
The flushing was promoted due to cloud Bursts and rainfall that triggered flash floods in Chenab River basin, say the NHPC authorities.
This suspension of Treaty has given a free hand to India to operate its dams.
The gates of Salal and Baglihar dams were opened for flushing out excessive silt to salvage the dams in Jammu and Kashmir.
Now it is a move that not only asserts India’s rights over its western rivers but also serves as a stern warning to Islamabad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, invoking a strong message, reiterated: “Blood and water cannot flow together.”
This sharp rebuke comes amid growing national outrage and global solidarity with India.
Countries across the world have backed New Delhi’s right to respond decisively against terrorism and to reassess its commitments under a treaty with a state that continues to export terror.
The Salal Dam, located on the Chenab River, has a capacity of 690 MW, while the Baglihar Dam, further downstream, boasts a capacity of 900 MW.
Both dams are vital not only for hydropower generation in Jammu and Kashmir but also for India’s strategic water rights under the Indus framework.
All the gates of the dams haveen opened carrying silt along the rivet downstream to Pakistan.
By flushing these dams — a process used to clear sediment and maintain reservoir efficiency — India has disrupted water flows downstream, which could significantly impact Pakistan's kharif season irrigation, especially in its Punjab province where farmers depend heavily on these waters.
Crucially, India has not notified Pakistan of this reservoir flushing — a marked shift from previous protocols under the now-suspended treaty.
Indian officials, including, former head of the Central Water Commission, have affirmed that “India can now pursue our hydro projects at free will.”
Pakistan has expressed alarm, accusing India of violating international norms.
But legal experts say that after the suspension of the treaty, Islamabad’s options are limited.
As water becomes a geostrategic tool, this unprecedented step has put Pakistan on the defensive, both diplomatically and agriculturally.
The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, had long survived wars and political upheavals.
In the recent past, inspection teams from Pakistan had also inspected the waters of Indus river system including dams and proposed project sites in Jammu and Kashmir and Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal as well.
THE Chenab River originate from Lahaul-Spiti and the Himachal has identified power projects on this river too. It is another matter that locals are up in arms against projects like Jispa dam and Seli on the Chenab River upstream of Jammu region.
But the tide has turned. India’s move — seen as a combination of hard diplomacy and strategic hydropolitics — has drawn widespread global attention.
Many international observers view it as a “befitting lesson” to Pakistan, delivered without crossing military lines.
With India leveraging its upstream advantage, the message is clear: terror has a price, and water is now part of the cost.
India has identified over 14000 MW power potential on the Indus River system so far, out of which about 23 per cent has been tapped so far.
Pakistan has been cribbing about many power projects on the river including Kishanganga project.
But now it will be easier for India to go full steam executing the remaining power projects adding to its green energy and decreasing the carbon emissions footprints to earn carbon credits in the global green energy markets, say experts.
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