Pak-India Indus Waters Treaty talks held in spirit of goodwill: WB

Pakistan, India to reconvene in September in Washington

Talks over the Indus Waters Treaty were held between Pakistani and Indian officials in a spirit of goodwill and cooperation, the World Bank said on Wednesday adding that both sides have agreed to meet again in September in Washington.

"The parties have agreed to continue discussions and reconvene in September in Washington, DC," the World Bank said in a brief statement issued at the conclusion of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), according to The Indian Express.



Without providing further details, the WB said the secretary-level discussions between Pakistan and India over technical issues regarding the IWT were held in a spirit of "goodwill and cooperation".

India-Pak Secy-level discussions on technical issues on Indus Waters Treaty took place in a spirit of goodwill & cooperation: World Bank

— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2017

After a hiatus of two years and ‘water war threats’ from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan and India in March resumed talks over water issues with Islamabad welcoming the development but vowing to defend its rights with ‘full zeal and vigour’.

The two-day talks of Indus water commissioners of the two countries marked the first formal engagement between the arch rivals since relationship between them nosedived in September last year after an attack on an Indian military base in disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir.

India under the 1960 IWT is bound to hold such meetings with Pakistan. But the current meeting of the Indus water commissioners is significant in the sense that Premier Modi last year threatened to revoke the water accord with Pakistan.

The bilateral talks were halted in March 2015 at the time when both the countries were on the table to take up issues like India’s Kishanganga and Ratle power projects.  However, on Monday India’s Indus Water Commissioner P K Saxena revived the talks with his Pakistani counterpart Mirza Asif Beg.



Addressing a news conference in connection with the meeting, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif welcomed the Indian decision to send its commission to Pakistan but said, “We will defend our rights with full zeal and vigour”. “It is a happy augury that of late India has come back to the negotiating table at the commission level to re-launch the process of peaceful talks. I am happy to announce that the process of bilateral talks has been started on the IWT following efforts by Pakistan,” the minister said.