Claim
Since April, Pakistan has written four times asking India for water-level information under the suspended Indus Waters Treaty with no reply; one-third of Pakistan's population is affected by water shortage, with the Northwest canal short 64%, Rice canal 68% and Dadu canal 82%.
“पाकिस्तान ने अप्रैल से अब तक चिट्ठी लिखकर चार बार भारत से वाटर लेवल की जानकारी देने की गुहार की है। लेकिन भारत ने कोई जवाब नहीं दिया... पानी की कमी से पाकिस्तान की 1/3 आबादी प्रभावित है... नॉर्थवेस्ट कैनाल में 64% पानी की कमी है। राइस कैनाल में 68% और दादू कैनाल में 82% कम पानी है।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
Most of the claim is well-supported: Pakistan's Indus Waters Commissioner did write four times since April (2025, when India suspended the treaty) about Chenab flow with no Indian reply; roughly one-third of Pakistan faces severe shortage; and Sindh irrigation data confirm the North West Canal at -64% and Dadu Canal at -82%. However, the Rice Canal figure is wrong: the actual shortfall is about 38% (5,300 of 8,700 cusecs), not the stated 68% — an inflated, incorrect number likely from a digit transposition. Because the central narrative is accurate but one specific statistic is materially overstated, the claim is misleading rather than fully accurate.
Evidence
- https://www.dawn.com/news/2011838 Pakistan's Indus Waters Commissioner said he wrote to his Indian counterpart four times since last April (when India put the IWT in abeyance) about Chenab flow fluctuations with no reply — supports the 'four letters, no response' claim. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.businesstoday.in/world/story/indus-water-treaty-abeyance-nearly-a-third-of-pakistan-faces-severe-water-shortage-536730-2026-06-13 Headlines that nearly a third of Pakistan faces severe water shortage — supports the 'one-third of population affected' figure. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://organiser.org/2026/06/07/357081/world/pakistan-indus-water-drifts-to-punjab-acute-crisis-in-dadu-canal-drought-in-sindh/ Sindh irrigation data cited: North West Canal minus 64%, Dadu Canal minus 82%, but Rice Canal minus 38% — confirms NW and Dadu figures and contradicts the claimed 68% for Rice Canal. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.dawn.com/news/2006698/punjab-draws-excess-water-as-sindh-and-balochistan-face-severe-shortages Cusec-level data: Rice Canal получает 5,300 of 8,700 cusecs (~39% shortfall), confirming the real Rice Canal deficit is ~38-39%, not 68%. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403