China accelerates dam construction in Pakistan to prop up its terror-linked ally after India suspends the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam attack.
In a move that appears to shield Pakistan from the consequences of its continued support for terrorism, China has accelerated work on a controversial dam project in Pakistan-occupied Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This comes weeks after India took a bold and long-overdue step by placing the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, following the gruesome terror attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam on April 22.
The state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation has been working on the Mohmand Hydropower Project since 2019. The project — part of China’s larger geopolitical agenda under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — was initially due for completion next year.
On Saturday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV claimed that concrete filling on the dam had started, calling it “a critical construction milestone and a phase of accelerated development for this national flagship project of Pakistan,” according to the South China Morning Post.
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Billed as a multi-purpose project, the Mohmand dam is set to produce 800MW of hydropower and supply 300 million gallons of water daily to Peshawar.
The dam push comes amidst Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Beijing for closed-door talks with Chinese Communist Party’s top diplomat Wang Yi. The timing of this “accelerated development” only reinforces suspicions that the project serves dual-use strategic objectives.
China’s move comes on the heels of India’s strong diplomatic decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty — a pact that had remained intact for over six decades despite multiple wars and Pakistan’s repeated violations.
Following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that left Indian tourists dead, India formally notified Pakistan of its decision to put the treaty on hold, citing Pakistan’s breach of its core provisions.
Under the IWT, Pakistan was allowed to use waters from the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers, while India retained control over the eastern Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas. Despite being the aggressor in repeated border conflicts, Pakistan had been enjoying access to about 80% of its drinking and irrigation water from rivers flowing from India — a concession New Delhi had long honoured in good faith.