In recent weeks, militants in Pakistan have escalated their hostile rhetoric toward India. The subject of their ire is water. Hafiz Saeed, the head of militant Islamist group Jamaat-ud-Dawa, has warned that India plans "to make Pakistan barren" by preventing the waters of the Indus Basin from flowing downstream to Pakistan.
On the subcontinent and across South Asia, water is a major source of tension and a potential trigger for conflict. It is a precious resource in a region where political relations are tense and trans-boundary water agreements are fragile.
The best hope for averting water war lies not in repairing frayed political ties or enhancing water diplomacy, but rather in better managing domestic water resources.
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