Pakistan Affairs MCQs – Page 23 (Q221-230)

The Kotri Barrage on the Indus River is also known as the Ghulam Muhammad Barrage, named after Malik Ghulam Muhammad, Pakistan's third Governor-General, who inaugurated the project. Located near Hyderabad in Sindh, it was completed in 1955 and is the last major barrage on the Indus before the river reaches the Arabian Sea. The barrage plays a critical role in irrigating lower Sindh and in maintaining minimum downstream flows needed to prevent seawater intrusion into the Indus delta. Environmental concerns over reduced flow reaching the delta below Kotri have grown in recent decades, affecting mangrove ecosystems and coastal communities.

The Taunsa Barrage is built on the Indus River, located in Punjab near the town of Taunsa Sharif, and was completed in 1958 to irrigate large areas of southern Punjab. It feeds several major canal systems that support agriculture across the Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzaffargarh districts, forming an important part of the province's irrigation network. The barrage also facilitates a road crossing over the Indus, connecting communities on either bank of the river. Like other Indus barrages such as Guddu and Sukkur further downstream, Taunsa reflects the extensive mid-20th-century expansion of Pakistan's canal irrigation infrastructure.

The Chashma Barrage on the Indus River is located in Punjab, near the town of Chashma in Mianwali district, and was completed in 1971 to regulate irrigation flows for the surrounding region. It feeds the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal, part of a broader system of link canals built after the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty to transfer water between the Indus and other rivers following the loss of the eastern rivers to India. The barrage also created Chashma Lake, an artificial reservoir that has become a habitat for migratory birds and a site of local ecological interest. It remains an important component of Punjab's irrigation and flood-management infrastructure along the Indus.

The Mangla Dam is built on the Jhelum River, located near Mirpur in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and was completed in 1967, making it Pakistan's second-largest dam after Tarbela. It was constructed with financial and technical assistance arranged as part of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, helping compensate for the loss of the eastern rivers allocated to India. The dam's reservoir led to the submersion of the old town of Mirpur, whose displaced residents were resettled, with many later migrating to the United Kingdom, forming a significant British-Pakistani diaspora community. Mangla remains a critical source of irrigation water and hydroelectric power for Pakistan's national grid.

The Mangla Dam is located near Mirpur, in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and its construction in the 1960s required the submersion of the old town, whose residents were relocated and compensated, with many subsequently emigrating to Britain. Built on the Jhelum River and completed in 1967, the dam is Pakistan's second-largest reservoir after Tarbela and plays a major role in irrigation and power generation. Mirpur today is known for its strong ties to the UK Pakistani diaspora, sometimes informally called 'Little England' due to the scale of emigration from the district. The dam's construction was financed partly through funds arranged under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty following partition of the river system.

The Tarbela Dam is built on the Indus River, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the town of Tarbela, and completed in 1976 as one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world. It plays a central role in irrigation for Punjab and Sindh's agricultural belt, flood control, and hydroelectric power generation, supplying a major share of Pakistan's national electricity grid. The dam's construction, financed partly through arrangements under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, was a massive engineering undertaking involving the resettlement of numerous local communities. It remains Pakistan's single largest water storage reservoir, though sedimentation has gradually reduced its storage capacity over the decades since completion.

The Warsak Dam is built on the Kabul River, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near Peshawar, and was completed in 1960 with assistance from Canada under the Colombo Plan, making it one of Pakistan's earliest major hydroelectric projects. It was among the first large dams built in Pakistan after independence, providing both irrigation water and electricity to the surrounding region. The Kabul River itself originates in Afghanistan and flows into Pakistan before joining the Indus near Attock, making Warsak an important transboundary water project. The dam remains a key power source for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, though it has faced periodic challenges from sedimentation and reduced generation capacity.

The Warsak Dam is located near Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, built on the Kabul River with Canadian assistance under the Colombo Plan and completed in 1960. It was one of Pakistan's earliest major hydroelectric and irrigation projects following independence, providing power and water to the surrounding Peshawar valley. The dam's location near Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, also gave it strategic significance as an early symbol of Pakistan's post-independence development efforts. Warsak remains operational today, though like many of Pakistan's older dams it faces reduced capacity due to sediment accumulation over the decades.

The Diamer-Bhasha Dam is being constructed on the Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan, near the boundary with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and is intended to become Pakistan's largest dam by storage capacity once completed, surpassing Tarbela. Construction has faced repeated delays over decades due to financing challenges, environmental concerns and disputes over the dam's location within the disputed Kashmir region, which has complicated international funding. The project is intended to significantly boost Pakistan's hydroelectric power generation and water storage capacity, addressing chronic energy shortages and dwindling reservoir capacity at existing dams. Its planned reservoir would also submerge parts of the ancient Karakoram Highway route, requiring realignment of sections of the road.

Pakistan's coastline lies along the Arabian Sea, stretching roughly 1,050 kilometres across the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan and forming the country's only maritime boundary. The coastline hosts major ports including Karachi Port, Port Qasim, and the deep-sea Gwadar Port, central to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Arabian Sea forms part of the northern Indian Ocean and serves as Pakistan's principal route for international maritime trade and naval activity. Other seas such as the Red Sea, Caspian Sea and Mediterranean lie far from Pakistan's borders and have no direct bearing on its geography.