NEW DELHI, Apr 17: A top government panel on Monday took stock of the ongoing modification process of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a pact that was inked 62 years back between India and Pakistan for the management of cross-border rivers.
On January 25, India issued a notice to Pakistan seeking a review and modification of the treaty following Islamabad’s ”intransigence” in handling certain disputes.
Earlier this month, India said it has received Pakistan’s response to its notice. According to Pakistani media, Islamabad had conveyed in its letter that it was ready to listen to New Delhi’s concerns about the treaty.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said the sixth meeting of the Steering Committee on matters related to IWT of 1960 took place on April 17 and it was chaired by the Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and was attended by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra among other senior officials.
It said the meeting ”took stock of the ongoing modification process of the Indus Waters Treaty.” ”Matters related to the ongoing Neutral Expert proceedings pertaining to the Kishenganga and Ratle Hydroelectric Projects were also discussed,” it said.
It is understood that the meeting deliberated on Pakistan’s response to India’s notice.
India took the significant step of sending the notice to Pakistan conveying its intent to amend the treaty, months after the World Bank announced appointing a neutral expert and a chair of the Court of Arbitration to resolve the differences over the Kishenganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
India has been particularly disappointed over the appointment of the Court of Arbitration. New Delhi considers the start of the two concurrent processes to resolve the dispute as a violation of the provision of the graded mechanism prescribed in the pact, and wondered what will happen if the mechanisms come out with contradictory judgements. And therefore, did not cooperate with the Court of Arbitration.
India and Pakistan signed IWT on September 19, 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the World Bank being a signatory of the pact which sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two sides on the use of waters of a number of cross-border rivers. (Agencies)
