LAHORE: Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Monday said that India should honour the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) and warned that Pakistan will face a severe water shortage in the next few years.

He said Pakistan wants to resolve water issues with its eastern neighbour and added that, "We will contest our case at an appropriate forum if India encroaches upon our water rights."

Addressing a function in the provincial capital city of Punjab, the federal minister said the government would resolve the issue of electricity loadshedding faced by the country within three years but at the moment Pakistan was heading towards a serious water shortage.

Asif said that the issues of electricity loadshedding and water scarcity were a result of mismanagement by previous governments.

Read: Water shortage looming, warns Khawaja Asif

He warned that Pakistan can face a severe drought within the next few years and the country is not prepared to handle such a situation.

Asif said that the issue of water scarcity is long-term and cannot be resolved within two to three years.

The water and power minister further said that in this regard, the government is preparing a comprehensive long-term plan to enhance water storage capacity, under which several small and big water reservoirs will be built after consensus with all stakeholders.

The federal minister said that construction of dams was a matter of life and death now and the country faces devastating floods due to the lack of water storage facilities.

He said that the resolution of such issues should be found after considering national interests.

IWT signed with India in 1961 under the aegis of the World Bank stipulated that the flow from the three Western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab) will be for the exclusive use of Pakistan while the three Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) will be for India’s use.