The Bahrain Declaration against Madyan Hydropower Project

By WeMountains Last updated Nov 24, 2025

Madyan Hydropower Project in its current form and without Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is not acceptable to the Indigenous Torwali people—Declares the traditional council/Jirga of the Torwali people in Bahrain Swat.

A representative council, the traditional jirga, with representation of every village in the Torwali speaking area of tehsil Bahrain Swat was called today (21 November) in Bahrain Swat by the Draya-e Swat Bachau Tehreek i.e. Save River Swat Protection in order to have peoples’ consultation the Madyan Hydropower Project, 207 megawatts funded by the World Bank under its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hydropower and Energy Program (KHRE) and implemented by the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO). The meeting was attended by representatives of every village in the Area of Influence (AOI) of the said project along with delegations from all other Torwali villages, Kalam and Madyan.

Notables among the speakers at the Jirga were ex-provincial minister Malak Muhammad Didar Khan, Malak Khurshid Ali, Malak Nisar Ahmad, Malak Bakht Mand, Advocate Iqbal Shah, Malak Dost Muhammad Khan, Raja Mumtaz, Malak Asif Shehzad, Malak Tawas, Haji Mirajuddin, Malak Nawazish Ali, president Bahrain trade federation Khanzada Khan, Inam Ullah, Bakht Nawaz Chamot, Zubair Torwali and representative of the youth Tariq Hussain Zeb, Jafar Shah and others.

Malak Muhammad Didar Khan said that the Torwali people have been agitating against the project for the last 15 months. Our main focus is the financier of the project, World Bank which seems apathetic to the Indigenous peoples demands and throw them under the bus by pushing them to negotiate the project with the contactor PEDO. He further declared that the people would never let the project as it because the people have already tasting the ‘development’ in the name of the Daral Hydropower Project by the PEDO.

Malak Khurshid informed the council that institutions like the World Bank and others have been destroying our resources through their local implementing agencies or the private sector which is not acceptable to the people.

Malak Nisar Ahmad extended all his support to the Darya-e Swat Bachau Tehreek reiterating that it has been doing a wonderful job for the last 16 months. He said that the project in its current form is not acceptable to them. Advocate Iqbal Shah asked the people to get united against such extractive projects which violate their basic rights to land, resources and livelihood. Inam Ullah intimated the jirga of the agenda and greater cause of the Darya-e Swat Bachau Tehreek saying that the movement is not dependent on funding; and is operating from the meager sources of the individuals in the movement.

Zubair Torwali presented a report on the activities of the Darya-e Swat Bachau and a history of the movement’s engagement with the World Bank, other international institutions, PEDO and the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He put the blunders and errors by the PEDO and World Bank in the various reports of the project such as Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and informed the gathering as how the World Bank and the PEOD had admitted their mistakes and errors by agreeing upon an Action Plan for further dialogues. He deplores that negotiation on this Action Plan do not go forward because the World Bank does not come to the front and the PEDO has not the capacity to deal with such negotiations. He informed the gathering as how the World Bank has violated its own safeguard policies through avoiding FPIC (free, prior and informed consultation) and disrupting the Indigenous status of the Torwali people in the project area by misrepresenting their Indigenous identity.

At the end the jirga passed and signed a declaration called Bahrain Declaration regarding the Madyan Hydropower Project. The key points of the declaration are below.

The Bahrain Declaration on the Protection of the River Swat and the Rights of the Torwali People
(Issued by the Elders of the Torwali Community, Bahrain Valley, Swat)

We, the elders and representatives of the Torwali community of the upper Swat Valley — guardians of the mountains, forests, rivers, and traditions of this land — gathered in Bahrain Swat to deliberate upon the proposed Madyan Hydropower Project and its far-reaching implications for our people, our environment, and our ancestral heritage. After collective discussion and reflection, we make the following declaration in defense of our natural and cultural inheritance, which we hold in trust for our children and generations yet unborn.

For centuries, the Torwali people have lived along the upper reaches of the Swat River — from Bahrain to Kalam — nurturing a sustainable relationship with the land and water that sustain us. Our livelihoods, our songs, our language, and our very identity are inseparable from this river, which we revere as Darya-e-Swat, the lifeline of our existence. The forests, pastures, and glaciers surrounding it form part of our collective memory and moral economy, rooted in customary law, cooperation, and respect for nature.

We recognize that development and energy generation are vital for the progress of Pakistan, but we cannot accept any project that violates our right to life, land, language, and culture, as guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan and by international instruments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The Madyan Hydropower Project — planned without our Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) represents not development but displacement. It threatens to alter the ecology of the Swat River, disrupt our livelihoods, and further marginalize our already vulnerable Indigenous community.

We therefore declare:

That the Torwali people are Indigenous to this region. Our presence here predates the modern state, and our rights to the land, forests, and waters are moral, historical, and collective. Any development initiative must recognize our indigeneity and involve us as primary stakeholders, not passive recipients.
That no project shall proceed without genuine FPIC. Consultation must not be symbolic or rushed. It must be held in our villages, in our language, and with full access to translated documents, scientific assessments, and independent expert advice.
That development must not destroy what it claims to improve. True development uplifts the people, safeguards ecosystems, and strengthens local cultures. Projects that bring wealth to corporations but leave local communities poorer are unjust and unsustainable.
That the government of Pakistan and international institutions such as the World Bank must uphold their commitments under environmental and Indigenous rights safeguards. Any deviation from these obligations would amount to a breach of trust and a perpetuation of extractive colonial practices under a new name.
That the Darya-e-Swat Bachau Tehreek (Save the Swat River Movement) is the legitimate platform representing the collective voice of the Torwali and other mountain peoples of upper Swat. We call upon all relevant institutions to engage with this movement in good faith.
That we stand for an alternative vision of development — one based on ecological stewardship, community participation, cultural continuity, and justice. Hydropower projects must be re-evaluated considering climate change, glacial fragility, and Indigenous sustainability practices.

Finally, we affirm that the river is not a resource to be exploited but a relative to be respected. Our commitment to protect it is not only cultural but moral and spiritual. We shall continue to raise our voices peacefully and persistently until justice is done, our rights are recognized, and our river flows free.

Adopted by the Elders of the Indigenous Torwali Community at Madyan, Swat Valley, Pakistan.
Dated: 21 November 2025