India issues notice to Pakistan for modification of Indus treaty

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, January 27

India has issued a notice to Pakistan for the modification of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) due to its “intransigence” on resolving the disputes over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects (HEPs).

Action follows Islamabad’s ‘intransigence’ over dispute redressal mechanism

Given 90 days to rectify material breach

The Need for it

• In a report tabled in August 2021, House standing committee favoured renegotiating the treaty
• The aim was to address climate change impact on water availability in the river basin, which wasn’t covered under the pact

Indus Waters Treaty

• Boundary line drawn across the Indus Basin, leaving Pak as lower riparian & India as upper riparian. Irrigation works at Madhopur on the Ravi & at Ferozepur on the Sutlej, on which irrigation canal supplies in Punjab (Pak) were dependent, fell in the Indian territory
• A dispute, thus, arose regarding utilisation of irrigation water. Talks under World Bank culminated in the Karachi treaty in 1960
• It provides India control of Ravi, Sutlej & Beas waters. Waters of eastern rivers allocated to India and of western rivers to Pak
• But India is permitted to use the waters of western rivers for domestic use, agri & hydro-electric power

The Indian intention was conveyed via a notice on January 25 through respective Commissioners for Indus Waters as per Article XII (3) of the IWT, said sources here.

“The objective of the notice for the modification is to provide Pakistan an opportunity to enter intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to rectify the material breach of the IWT. This process would also update the IWT to incorporate the lessons learned over the last 62 years,” said sources. They did not elaborate on what were “the lessons learned” or how the “material breach of IWT” would be rectified.

The Indian side says it was forced to take this move after Pakistan took unilateral action for examining its objections to India’s HEPs. In 2015, Pakistan first requested for appointment of a “neutral expert” to examine its technical objections to India’s Kishenganga and Ratle HEPs. In 2016, it unilaterally retracted this request and proposed that a Court of Arbitration adjudicate on its objections.

“This unilateral action by Pakistan is in contravention of the graded mechanism of dispute settlement envisaged by Article IX of the IWT. Accordingly, India made a separate request for the matter to be referred to a neutral expert,” said sources.

“The initiation of two simultaneous processes on the same questions and the potential of their inconsistent or contradictory outcomes creates an unprecedented and legally untenable situation, which risks endangering the IWT itself. The World Bank acknowledged this itself in 2016, and took a decision to “pause” the initiation of two parallel processes and request India and Pakistan to seek an amicable way out,” they added.

Despite repeated efforts by India to find a mutually agreeable way forward, Pakistan refused to discuss the issue during the five meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission from 2017 to 2022. At Pakistan’s continuing insistence, the World Bank has recently initiated action on both the neutral expert and Court of Arbitration processes. Such parallel consideration of the same issues is not covered under any provision of the IWT. Faced with such violation of the Indus Water Treaty’s provisions, India has been compelled to issue notice of modification, said the sources.

The sources maintained that “India has always been a steadfast supporter and a responsible partner in implementing the IWT in letter and spirit. However, Pakistan’s actions have adversely impinged on the provisions of the IWT and their implementation, and forced India to issue an appropriate notice for modification of the Indus Water Treat”.

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