What is the purpose of the Chashma-Jhelum link canal?

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Physical map showing the Indus River basin and its drainage network across parts of Pakistan, India, China, and Afghanistan. The map details river courses, tributaries, canals, dams, irrigated and marsh areas, sand regions, and elevation changes with shaded relief. International, disputed, and control boundaries are marked, and a small locator map in the corner shows the basin's position within South Asia. — Indus River The Indus River basin and its drainage network.

The Chashma-Jhelum link canal was constructed by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority following the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. Its primary purpose is to divert water from the western rivers of the Indus basin to areas in the east that lack sufficient water supplies.1

As the largest of the link canals, it connects the Indus River to the Jhelum River with a discharge capacity of approximately 21,700 cubic feet (615 cubic meters) per second. The water transported by this canal feeds into the Haveli Canal and the Trimmu-Sidhnai-Mailsi-Bahawal link canal systems, which are essential for providing irrigation to agricultural areas in southern Punjab province.1