By Fakhar-e-Alam DI KHAN, May 13 (APP):As the sweet aroma of ripening mangoes spreads across the orchards of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, farmers in Dera Ismail Khan district were preparing for one of the busiest and most profitable seasons of the year amid growing uncertainty of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) violations by India. Many mangoes, bananas, dates and watermelon growers are anxiously watching water levels in canals coming out of the …
Drying hopes in the orchards: IWT violations by India puts KP mangoes growers’ economy at risk
By Fakhar-e-Alam
DI KHAN, May 13 (APP):As the sweet aroma of ripening mangoes spreads across the orchards of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, farmers in Dera Ismail Khan district were preparing for one of the busiest and most profitable seasons of the year amid growing uncertainty of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) violations by India.
Many mangoes, bananas, dates and watermelon growers are anxiously watching water levels in canals coming out of the River Indus and worrying about the future of their orchards amid deep concerns over violations of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) by India since April last year.
Under the 1960 IWT, the water rights of the River Indus alongwith Chanab and Jhelum rivers had been accepted by India and World Bank, and such unilateral suspension of the treaty by the fascist Modi Govt was tantamount of creating a reign of hunger and starvation in Pakistan.
In Paniala village near DI Khan, farmers and labourers have already begun arriving at orchards to pluck the season’s first mangoes, pack them into wooden crates and prepare shipments for markets across Pakistan.
Standing beneath rows of heavily laden mango trees, progressive farmer Abbas Khan (48) recalled how his father planted the orchard decades ago and today they reap its benefits.
“These mango trees were planted by my father on eight acres that also grew wheat for us,” Abbas said. “Today, our entire family depends on this orchard that fulfils my children’s education, health and food livelihood by living with dignity.”
But alongside hopes for strong market prices, fears about water shortages are growing among mangoes, banana, dates and watermelon growers of DI Khan following IWT violations.
“Mango, date, banana and watermelon farmers here rely heavily on water from the River Indus,” he explained. “If violations of the IWT continue and water availability decreases, our mango production will suffer badly.”
Fingering toward the irrigation channels flowing towards his fields, Abbas described water as the lifeline of the region’s farming communities, and the IWT violations will expose millions of people to hunger and starvation.
“This water means prosperity for us. Without it, entire farming communities will struggle,” he said.
Agriculture experts warned that the concerns are not unfounded. Dr Abdul Rauf, former Director General of Agriculture Research KP, said Dera Ismail Khan remains one of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s leading mango-producing districts alongside Swabi, Mardan and Peshawar due to its fertile soil, favourable climate and proximity to the Indus and Kabul rivers.
He said DI Khan will emerge as a key fruits and vegetables centre of KP due to its agricultural lands, underscoring the need for speedy completion of Cheshma Right Bank Canal and watercourses to bring water from Gomal Zam Dam.
By doing so, the premium mango varieties, including Chaunsa, Sindhri, Anwar Ratol and Langra, will be increased besides their exports to international markets, Dr Rauf told APP.
He said Pakistan was currently the world’s sixth-largest producer of fresh mangoes and the fourth-largest exporter. Pakistani mangoes are shipped not only to Gulf countries but also to markets in Japan, South Korea, China and South Africa.
However, he warned that climate pressures and water uncertainty are already affecting this sector.
“Pakistan’s mango production for the 2026 season is projected to decline by nearly 20 percent from the usual 1.8 million tonnes to around 1.4 million tonnes due to climate change,” he said.
“Cooler weather patterns, fluctuations in rainfalls and climate change have slowed mango crop growth this year in KP, while concerns over water availability could further aggravate the situation.”
Dr Rauf cautioned that Punjab, which produces nearly 70 to 78 percent of Pakistan’s mangoes could face severe consequences if irrigation supplies are disrupted.
Major mango-growing regions including Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Muzaffargarh and Shujaabad in Punjab, as well as Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad in Sindh, depend heavily on river water for cultivation.
“Thousands of farming community could be pushed toward economic hardship if water shortages intensify due to IWT violations,” he warned.
For growers like Abbas Khan, however, the issue goes beyond exports and economic figures; it is now a human rights issue. It is about preserving a way of life rooted in generations of mango farming.
Besides food security challenges, IWT violations by New Delhi have threatened the inviolability of international treaties and inter-state relations.
The experts said that holding IWT in abeyance by India in April last year has put the peace of the subcontinent into jeopardy, and the repercussions of another war between two nuclear powers, especially on water, will reach beyond borders.
Manzoorul Haq, former ambassador, told APP that fascist Modi Govt went against the Geneva Conventions and 1960 IWT brokered by the World Bank.
He warned that unilateral illegal actions over the transboundary waters could heighten tensions and pose big risks to regional peace and stability.
He accused New Delhi of material breaches of the IWT that may have consequences for regional stability, citing unusual, abrupt variations in the flow of the Chenab River from April 30 to May 21 and from December 7 to December 15 last year.
These variations in water flows are of extreme concern for Pakistan as they point to unilateral release of water by India into the River Chenab.
He said India has released this water without any prior notification or any data or information-sharing with Pakistan as required under the treaty.
This water manipulation by India occurred at a critical time in Pakistan’s agricultural cycle and directly threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions, as well as food and economic security.
Pakistan expected that India would respond to the queries raised by Pakistan’s Indus water commissioner clearly and refrain from any unilateral manipulation of western river flows.
He said that India can’t hold in abeyance IWT unilaterally and had lost all grounds after the historic ruling of the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
He accused India of consistently trying to undermine the IWT by building various dams, including Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects, illegally, which sets a very dangerous precedent.
India has illegally subverted the treaty’s own dispute resolution mechanism by refusing to participate in the Court of Arbitration and neutral expert proceedings, besides exposing millions of people to starvation and hunger in Pakistan.
As the mango harvest season was about to begin in DI Khan, many farmers across KP’s mango belt now wait with a mixture of hope and uncertainty, praying that the western rivers sustaining their orchards continue to flow for the prosperity of the people.
