Prof. Dr Uzma Shujaat
Non-traditional security is challenges to survival that stem from non-military sources such as climate change, food shortages, natural disasters, and resource depletion. They often transcend geographical boundaries and require a broader approach. In the 21st century, there is a realization that security issues extend beyond military threats and have become a critical issue of analysis. It shows how an earlier concept of comprehensive security has evolved into what we now call non-traditional security.
Keeping this elaboration connected with the Indus water crisis between India and Pakistan, it is a vivid example of NTSC.
The Indus waters sharing agreement between India and Pakistan was mediated by the World Bank in 1960. The treaty defines the rights and obligations of both the countries regarding the use of the water of the Indus Rivers. The main motive behind the water-sharing formula was to avoid water conflict between India and Pakistan and explicitly define the principles of inter-state water sharing from India.
The Indus River is the primary source of water in Pakistan, and the country depends on it for the majority of its water supply for irrigation, agriculture, and other uses.
If we see the Indus trans-boundary course, glaciers and tributaries are originated in the high mountains of the Nagari Prefecture in western Tibet. The Himalayas, Hindu Kush in Afghanistan, and the Korakoram feed the extensive Indus River system. Its flood plains, where most of the population of Pakistan live, make it one of the largest agricultural regions in Asia. It is also estimated that around 90% of Pakistan’s food and approximately 65% of its employment depends on farming, which is sustained by the Indus.
The Indus River is divided primarily between India and Pakistan, with 47% of the water allocated to Pakistan. In this course, its tributaries play a significant role as many tributaries run through and along the LOC, which separates Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan-administered regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. After the war between India and Pakistan in which Pakistan’s strategic capability prevailed, as a political scientist I suspect that the entire region’s water security could be in danger.
Geographically speaking, India is upstream on the Indus from Pakistan, but the river originates in Tibet under Chinese control. India is downstream on the Brahmaputra River, which starts from China as the Yarlung Tsangpo and supplies fresh water to millions in northeastern India. These types of threats and violations using the Indus Waters Treaty as geographical leverage can have ripple and deleterious effects across and beyond the region and pose grave threats to regional security and stability.
According to international standards and frameworks, these trans-boundary water agreements and treaties are meant to create trust and predictability for the riparian states and are typically kept separate from other political and economic issues between countries. In debates on climate change action, research focuses on three major goals: mitigation, adaptation, and transformation. Even though these goals are accepted, concrete action is still difficult to realize. Climate justice and collective action provide an analysis of why this is the case. The answer lies in the theory of joint action that reframes climate goals as shared goals and highlights the importance of adhering to the principles of fairness.
In an era marked by escalating climate challenges, the importance of collective action cannot be overstated. From mitigating the effects of global warming to addressing resource scarcity, no single entity government, corporate, or NGOcan tackle these pressing issues alone. Achieving meaningful and lasting impact requires collective action that brings together diverse perspectives, resources, and expertise. In a recent political, diplomatic, and even strategic debate of India on 0910 May, before India chose the phrase abeyance, the Indus Waters Treaty also does not address the possibility of an abeyance. According to Gabriel Eckstein, a water law and policy expert, this move hurts India’s previously maintained moral high ground.
The whole scenario of the Indus Waters Treaty is illustrative of the first water flow and leading water shortage are brewing wars in the region. We need to have a fresh perspective by thinking of this treaty in various political, economic, and strategic perspectives. Plus, we also need to have workable or doable plans for regulatory activities in relation to natural phenomena caused by various factors, through the prism of rational regions and the modern international map of the world.
The author is the Acting Director of the Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi.
