New Delhi: India has sent a notice to Pakistan asking it to revise the Indus Water Sharing Agreement 1960. The notice was issued on January 25 by the concerned commissioners of the Indus River Water Distribution Authority.
Informed sources said: “The purpose of this notice is to give the government of Pakistan 90 days to negotiate between the two countries to rectify the violations of the Indus Water Sharing Agreement. This process will also help implement the lessons learned in the last 62 years.”
India has always been a great partner in the implementation of the Indus Water Sharing Agreement. But the actions of the Pakistani government in violating the terms of the agreement and its implementation have forced India to send a notice to modify the agreement.
In 2015, the government of Pakistan requested the appointment of a neutral expert to examine technical objections to India’s Kishanganga and Raddle hydropower projects. Later, in 2016, Pakistan voluntarily withdrew its claim and approached the arbitral tribunal over its objection.
This arbitrary action by Pakistan is in violation of Article IX of the Indus Water Sharing Agreement for the settlement of disputes. Subsequently, India separately requested the appointment of a neutral expert on the matter.
In relation to one question, initiating two procedures at the same time, their random conflicting, illegitimate consequences, creates unpredictable, unacceptable situations. This could jeopardize the Indus Water Sharing Agreement. The World Bank, which adopted this in 2016, had requested that India-Pakistan find a way to resolve the issue and find the right way to resolve it.
India tried to find a coordinated solution in this regard. However, Pakistan has refused to discuss the issue in all the five meetings of the Permanent Indus River Commission from 2017 to 2022.
Due to persistent pressure from the Government of Pakistan, the World Bank, a neutral expert and an arbitral tribunal have recently started taking action on the issue. However, these measures do not involve any clause of the Indus Water Sharing Agreement. “Due to such series of countermeasures by the Pakistan government, it has become necessary to send a notice to amend the river water sharing agreement,” they said.
