India requests Pakistan to review Indus Waters Treaty

4 Oct 2024 by The Water Diplomat

On the 18th of September the government of India formally requested the Government of Pakistan to review the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), signed by the two governments in Karachi in 1960 after negotiations that stretched over nine years in total. The Indian government is reportedly requesting the review citing 'fundamental and unforeseen changes' in circumstances, such as population demographics, environmental issues, and the need for clean energy development to meet emission targets. Pakistan for its part is willing to grant the request, referring the case to the Indus Commissioners appointed by both countries to the Permanent Indus Commission. However, India has reportedly taken the position that doing so would be to execute the treaty, and that there should be no more meetings of the Commission until a willingness to renegotiate the treaty has been expressed.  

The IWT sets out the rights and obligations of both countries concerning the use of the waters in the Indus River Basin, allocating the waters of the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan for its unrestricted use and the waters of the eastern rivers to India (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej). It also provides for funding mechanisms for infrastructure development and formalised mechanisms for cooperation through data exchange as well as the providing for the establishment of the Permanent Indus Commission, defining mechanisms for dispute resolution between the countries. The mechanisms in the commission are translated into procedures that have handled the issues that have arisen over the decades: “questions” are handled by the Commission; “differences” are to be resolved by a Neutral Expert; and “disputes” are to be referred to an ad hoc arbitral tribunal called the “Court of Arbitration.” 

The Treaty was signed with the facilitation of the World Bank and has been in operation for 64 years. The World Bank sees it as a very successful treaty given that it has functioned despite significant tensions while enabling irrigation and hydropower development. The Treaty provides for the appointment of a neutral expert to deliberate on issues in the case of a dispute which cannot be resolved by the Indus Commissioners. Should this level of dispute resolution fail, the matter may be referred to a Permanent Court of Arbitration. In 2015, for instance, Pakistan requested World Bank to appoint a neutral expert to look into two hydropower project proposed by India, which it argued was not in line with the provisions of the IWT.

Pakistan depends heavily on the waters of the Indus for agricultural purposes especially in the Punjab. Differences in perspective have arisen in the recent past in relation to planned infrastructure development as well as in relation to the sharing of information. In 2022, The Water Diplomat reported on concerns expressed by Pakistan regarding plans for a new hydroelectric project on the Chenab River as well as on the Fazilka drain, which Pakistan had blocked to prevent untreated wastewater from some 18 urban areas in Punjab from flowing into its territory. The blocking had led to the accumulation of wastewater on the Indian side of the border and contaminated water in some 200 nearby villages, which Pakistan acknowledged and there upon pledged to reopen the drain. At the time, the issues were discussed at the 117th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission.