Pakistan to build Azad Pattan project in PoK

Islamabad, Dec 5: Azad Pattan project is a hydropower project that is to be constructed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. It is to be built on the Jhelum River and will have the capacity to generate 700 MW of hydroelectricity.

 

The Azad Pattan Project is a 1.35 billion USD project that is to be jointly undertaken by China and Pakistan as a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The CPEC is a flagsip project of the Chinese government that connects Gwadar Port of Pakistan and Xinjiang of China.

 

The Azad Pattan Project is one of the five hydropower schemes to be built on the Jhelum river, the other four being Kohala, Mahl, Karot and Chakothi Hattian. Among these, Kohala, Azad Pattan and Karot are to be developed under CPEC network.

 

The project is to be commissioned by 2024. It is a run-of the river scheme, under which the river water is diverted from a flowing river and guided down a channel that leads to a generating house.

 

The problem here is that the dam is to be constructed in the region that is under dispute between India and Pakistan. India had also objected the construction of Diamer-Basha Dam previously, which is to be constructed across the Indus river in Gilgit-Baltistan region. According to the Indian statement, the projects being implemented in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir do not follow international norms.

 

These projects provide geopolitical leverage to the Dragon in the western Indian Ocean region, which will strengthen China’s strategy of using its economic power to increase its geopolitical leverage.