Water treaty between India and Pakistan
The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) was signed in 1960 by India and Pakistan, after nine years of negotiation by The World Bank. Pakistan was extremely unhappy during the negotiation as it felt that the treaty was unfair to it. Eventually, it fell in line because The World Bank offered rewards along with an implicit threat that aid to Pakistan would be withheld if it did not agree to sign the treaty.
The permanent Indus Water Commission was set up under the treaty. A bilateral commission was set up under the treaty. A bilateral commission consisting of officials from India and Pakistan was created to implement and manage the goal objective and outlines of the treaty. The treaty has withstood several wars and recurring tensions between the two countries and remains in force. The last meeting of the commission was held on 30-31 May 2022 in New Delhi.
Water sharing between India and Pakistan
The Indus Water Treaty is a water-sharing treaty between India and Pakistan. The IWS was a unique treaty that divided the six rivers of the Indus basin. This model of dividing the rivers has probably not been replicated anywhere in the world.
The treaty gave India the unrestricted right to use the water of three Eastern rivers, The Ravi, The Beas, and The Sutlej. And Western three rivers, The Jhelum, The Chenab, and The Indus. With some restrictions, India was allowed to use the western river for agricultural and drinking purposes as well as the construction of limited storage facilities in Jammu and Kashmir. All these six rivers together are called, as Indus system of rivers.
The Treaty has no exit clause. Its dispute resolution mechanism contested the settlement of differences at the Neutral Expert level and disputes at the court of arbitration level.
Disputes in The Indus Water Treaty
In 2005, Pakistan for the first time invoked the dispute resolution mechanism when India constructed The Baglihar dam on the Chenab river. Pakistan has insisted that The World Bank set up a Court of Arbitration to settle its object over India’s Kishenganga and Ratlre projects. India has strongly objected and asked The World Bank instead to set up a Neutral Expert under the treaty before the differences go to the court of arbitration. World Bank sought to initiate both processes simultaneously. This was objected to by India and the process was paused in 2016 and again removed its paused in March 2022. According to some media reports the bank has expressed its inability to move ahead and has left it to the two parties on which mechanism to choose. The dispute resolution mechanism, the heart of the treaty, has been paralyzed as it is unlikely that India and Pakistan will agree.
Pakistan threatened to use the Nuclear option
Pakistan has a strong but uninformed opinion that India is constructing hundreds of dams on the Western Rivers in violation of the treaty. A former general, in charge of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division(SPD). Even Global terrorist groups like The Laskar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad openly threatened India with direct consequences if India took away Pakistan’s water.
Pakistan on Indus Water Treaty
Pakistan has stepped up its efforts to internationalist the Kashmir issue. The ongoing India-China military standoff at the Line of Actual Control(LAC) raises apprehensions of China Pakistan duo pressuring India on the border. India India is deeply concerned about the growing Chinese presence in Gilgit Baltistan(Pakistan administrative Jammu and Kashmir) under the cover of the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC). There is always a possibility that Pakistan’s relationship with India could be determined further and the Indian government could come under renewed pressure to abrogate the treaty. The treaty is undoubtedly generous to Pakistan. It is unlikely that Pakistan would ever agree to renegotiate the treaty and undertake a new obligation.
India’s stance on Indus Water Treaty
The Indian government has been cautious, it has refrained from walking away from the treaty which it can do under the Vienna Convention on treaties using the ground that Pakistan is indulging in irresponsible state behavior by supporting terrorism. After the terror attacks by Pakistan-based terror groups on the Indian parliament in 2001, the Mumbai blast in 2008, the Pathankot attack in 2016, and the URI attack in 2017. Balakot airstrikes in 2017 have made public opinion even stiffer.
However, the Indian government has followed the path of utilizing its right over the water permissible under the Indus Water Treaty. India can construct storage facilities up to 3.4 MAF on Western Rivers and also take steps to the flow of Eastern Rivers Water to Pakistan by utilizing them on Jammy and Kashmir(Indian side)
