Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 27: Pakistan has received a notification from India asking them to change the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) of September 1960. As per the Article XII (3) of the IWT, the notification was delivered on January 25 through the appropriate Indus Waters Commissioners, sources said on Friday.
“India has always been a steadfast supporter and a responsible partner in implementing IWT in letter and spirit. However, Pakistan’s actions have adversely impinged on the provisions of IWT and their implementation, and forced India to issue an appropriate notice for modification of IWT,” the source added.
Sources claim that Pakistan asked for the appointment of an impartial expert in 2015 to look into its technical objections to India’s Kishenganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs). Pakistan abruptly withdrew this proposal in 2016 and suggested that an arbitration tribunal rule on its objections.
According to the sources, Pakistan’s unilateral move is in violation of the graduated dispute resolution procedure envisioned by Article IX of the IWT. India subsequently asked for the subject to be sent to a third party expert in a separate request.
The objective of the notice for modification, according to sources, is to provide Pakistan with an opportunity to enter into intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to rectify the material breach of the IWT. This process would also update IWT to incorporate the lessons learned over the last 62 years.
According to the sources, the start of two concurrent processes on the same issues and the possibility of their inconsistent or contradictory results create an unprecedented and legally untenable situation that could put the IWT in jeopardy. In 2016, the World Bank recognised this and decided to “stop” the start of two parallel procedures and ask India and Pakistan to look for a peaceful resolution.
The source claimed that Pakistan refused to discuss the matter throughout the five meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission from 2017 to 2022, despite persistent attempts by India to find a mutually beneficial solution.
The World Bank recently started taking action on both the neutral expert and Court of Arbitration processes in response to Pakistan’s continued insistence. According to the author, no IWT clause addresses the such concurrent assessment of the same issues.
