Journalist Hamid Mir has said that the Governor of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Kavindar Gupta, has formally announced plans to cut off Pakistan’s water supply through the Chenab-Beas tunnel project.
Quoting Gupta, Mir said that the governor stated that the project would divert surplus water from the Chenab river into the Beas basin, cutting off water supply to Pakistan.
“Pakistan actively fosters terrorism and it is essential to teach it a lesson,” Gupta said, adding that the project represents a necessary step toward rectifying past errors. He said that fulfilling the needs of Punjab, Himachal, Haryana, and Uttarakhand remains a top priority for the government.
The project involves constructing a tunnel roughly nine kilometres long on the Chenab river at an estimated cost of 2,325 crore Indian rupees (PKR 6,784 crore), with the stated aim of redirecting Chenab water into the Beas river.
Mir said that India plans to divert two million acre-feet of water annually through this tunnel, with work on the project having begun in 2026 and completion expected by July 2029.
He added that the move amounts to a violation of the UN Water Convention 1997, the Vienna Convention 1969 under Article 60 and the Indus Waters Treaty.
Mir also quoted an Indian journalist who reportedly said on his channel: “The green on Pakistan’s flag would be the only green left. We will eliminate all greenery from Pakistan”.
