Population Issues Network Newswatch

Looking at the world through demographics. This blog covers population in the news. Accelerating demographic growth is now the main factor driving biodiversity loss, growing resource scarcity, poverty and social conflict. Over-production and over-consumption are worsening this ecological crisis. 7 billion in 2011 - 9.3 or 10.6 billion (UN high estimate) by 2050. 80 million additional people a year at current rates! Is it not time to rethink population growth?

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Water worry threatens peace process (Water dispute can cast shadow over Pakistani-Indian talks)

Islamabad, June 22: US is not very hopeful about the long-term prospects of Pakistan and India easily resolving their disagreements about the “emotional issue” of water, especially given “Pakistani anxiety over access to water”.

According to secret US diplomatic cables accessed by WikiLeaks, Washington feared that the water-related disputes would cast a long shadow over the ‘Composite Dialogue’ process, the latest round of which begins in Islamabad on Thursday.

“Even if India and Pakistan could resolve the Baghliar and Kishanganga projects,” wrote US Ambassador to New Delhi David Mulford in a confidential cable dated February 25, 2005, “there are several more hydroelectric dams planned for Kashmir that might be questioned under the IWT (Indus Water Treaty).”

For full article:

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/Jun/23/water-worry-threatens-peace-process-39.asp