Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman has criticised India’s proposed hydropower project on the Chenab river, warning that turning river waters into a political or strategic tool would further escalate tensions between the two neighbours.

Reacting to India’s move to develop a hydropower project on the Chenab, Senator Rehman said such actions amount to a violation of the Indus Waters Treaty. She cautioned that “water weaponisation” is neither justified nor acceptable, especially in a region already severely affected by climate change.

On Monday, Rehman took to the social media platform X and stated that the turning of water into a weapon would only make the already existing hostility and distrust between India and Pakistan worse. She said that by taking such measures, the regional instability would more likely be affected positively rather than the long-standing disputes being settled.

Her comments referred to India’s recent approval for the 260-megawatt Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project at the Chenab river in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. This sanction was granted on Monday.

Earlier, after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which claimed and Indian army lives, the government on April 22 announced its decision to withdraw from the trilateral Indus Waters Treaty which was protecting the water sharing between India and Pakistan. The withdrawal was cited to be security service-related, and the announcement was made one day after the attack.

Rehman warned that one-sided decisions regarding the use of water resources could escalate the conflict between the concerned countries and cause severe environmental problems, especially when the scenario of global warming is making water a very critical issue at the global level.