Water talks with India ‘next month’

Islamabad writes letter to New Delhi on matter

LAHORE:

Negotiations on the disputed water projects between Pakistan and India will be held next month, sources said on Wednesday.

Pakistan has written a letter to India for talks on the matter.

The letter was penned by Pakistan Indus Water Commissioner Syed Mehr Ali Shah to his Indian counterpart.

The talks on irrigation projects between the two sides are taking place under the Indus Waters Accord.

A Pakistani delegation had visited India in May this year and now it is the latter’s turn to arrive in the former.

There will be talks with New Delhi on various issues including Pakal Dul dam as well as Lower Kalnai and Kiru hydropower projects of 1,000 MWs, 48MWs and 624MWs, respectively– all three of them located in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Kishtwar, the remotest district of IIOJK, is set to become northern India’s major power hub generating nearly 6,000 MWs of electricity after completion of the ongoing hydroelectric projects.

The surplus power from Kishtwar would not only be used for other parts of the disputed territory but also be sold to other states.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory. The negotiations were the initiative of former World Bank President Eugene Black. Seen as one of the most successful international treaties, it has survived frequent tensions, including conflict, and has provided a framework for irrigation and hydropower development for more than half a century.

The treaty allocates the western rivers of Indus, Jhelum, Chenab to Pakistan and the eastern rivers of  Ravi, Beas, Sutlej to India. At the same time, the treaty allows each country certain uses on the rivers allocated to the other.

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The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission, which has a commissioner from each country.

The accord also sets forth distinct procedures to handle issues which may arise: “questions” are handled by the commission; “differences” are to be resolved by a neutral expert; and “disputes” are to be referred to a seven-member arbitral tribunal called the “court of arbitration”.

The treaty allows India to use the western river waters for limited irrigation use and unlimited non-consumptive use for such applications as power generation, navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.

It lays down detailed regulations for India in building projects over the western rivers.

The preamble of the treaty recognises the rights and obligations of each country in the optimum use of water from the Indus system in a spirit of goodwill, friendship and cooperation.

This has not reduced the Islamabad's fears that New Delhi could potentially create floods or droughts in Pakistan, especially in times of war.

This concern was raised again after India released 170,000 cusecs into the Ravi during the 2022 Pakistan floods, an event that had already claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced 30 million people prior to the release.

(With input from agencies)