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HomeIndiaGovernanceA 58-year-old pact still settles water dispute between India & Pakistan

A 58-year-old pact still settles water dispute between India & Pakistan

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Indus Waters Treaty, one of most successful international pacts, provides framework for using water for irrigation, hydropower generation in Indus basin.

New Delhi: The Indus Waters Treaty that has survived three wars and tumultuous Indian-Pakistan ties completes its 58th year Wednesday.

The 1960 agreement that governs how water in the Indus river and its tributaries is utilised is regarded as one of the most successful international agreements.

According to the pact, India controls the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej — three rivers flowing in the eastern region — while Pakistan controls the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum.

The agreement

After nine years of negotiation, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan President Ayub Khan signed the historic treaty in Karachi on 19 September, 1960. Apart from India and Pakistan, the World Bank is also a signatory to it.


Also read: India, Pakistan set to resume Indus Water Treaty talks in Lahore on 29-30 August


The treaty provides a framework for using water for irrigation, hydropower generation in the Indus basin.

The agreement also mandates that each country appoint a high-ranking engineer with expertise in hydrology and water use as a commissioner to the Permanent Indus Commission. Both countries can direct “questions” to the commission that serves as an information exchange centre on all issues related to the treaty.

A neutral expert appointed by the World Bank will resolve “differences” while “disputes” will be settled by a court of arbitration.

Burning issues

In 2013, Pakistan took India to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague over the proposed construction of two hydroelectric projects — Kishanganga and Ratle — on the Jhelum and Chenab, respectively. Simultaneously, a neutral expert also looked into the issue.

After objections from India, the processes were halted and the World Bank held a series of high-level meetings with both countries. According to the World Bank fact sheet, India has the right to build both the projects.

In March 2016, when Pakistan called for “revisiting” the agreement, many Indian commentators called for using the treaty as a non-military option to pressure Pakistan.

Days after the Uri attack in September 2016 that left 18 soldiers dead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that “blood and water cannot flow together at the same time”, fuelled speculation that the treaty could be scrapped.


Also read: Pak raises India’s ‘violation’ of Indus Waters Treaty with World Bank


An inter-ministerial task force was also set up to examine the treaty so that India could assert all its water rights. However, the working of the treaty resumed the pre-2013 position amicably.

In May, Modi also inaugurated the Rs 5,700-crore hydroelectric project on the Kishanganga river, a tributary of the Jhelum.

Current issues

On 29 August, India’s Indus Water commissioner P.K. Saxena met his Pakistani counterpart Syed Mehr Ali Shah in Lahore to discuss the treaty.

However, both countries give different versions of the outcome of the two-day talks. While a ministry of external affairs issued a press release stating that both countries had agreed to undertake mandated tours of each other’s hydroelectric projects, Pakistan claimed it had a right to inspect India’s projects.

The commission has held 113 meetings since the treaty was was signed.

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