Explained: What Is Indus Waters Treaty And What Are Pending Issues Between India And Pakistan

The 117th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission is taking place in Pakistan between March 1-3. The Indian Commissioner of Indus Waters, Pradeep Saxena, is heading the team to Islamabad, while Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters, Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah, will represent the country.

The two countries meet once a year to discuss cooperation on the Indus River System, as required by Article VIII of the Indus Waters Treaty, which both countries signed in 1960 with the World Bank's assistance. The Commissioners are supposed to convene at least once a year, in India and Pakistan, on alternating years.

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The commissions last convened on March 23-24, 2021, when Pakistan's delegation visited New Delhi, bringing the annual meeting back after a two-year hiatus. The meeting was cancelled in 2019 due to Indo-Pak tensions following the Pulwama tragedy, while the annual gathering was cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Pakistan is expected to raise its objections to three Indian hydropower projects in the Chenab basin in Jammu and Kashmir: the 1000 megawatt (MW) Pakal Dul project, the 48 megawatt (MW) Lower Kalnai project, and the 624 megawatt (MW) Kiru project, as well as other smaller hydropower units India wants to develop in Ladakh, at the upcoming meeting. India, on the other hand, has already stated that all of the projects are fully compliant with the Indus Waters Treaty.

What is the Indus Waters Treaty, and why is it important?

The Indus river basin contains six rivers: the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, which originate in Tibet and flow across the Himalayan hills into Pakistan, terminating in Karachi to the south.

Apart from dividing India and Pakistan geographically, the partition line also split the Indus river system in two in 1947. Both sides were reliant on water from the Indus river basin to keep their irrigation system running, therefore a fair distribution was required.

Initially, the Inter-Dominion Agreement of May 1948 was signed, under which both countries agreed that India would deliver water to Pakistan in exchange for an annual payment from Pakistan. This agreement, however, quickly fell apart since the two countries couldn't agree on how to interpret it.

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In 1951, both countries sought to the World Bank for finance of their respective irrigation projects on the Indus and its tributaries, which is when the World Bank volunteered to mediate the disagreement due to the water-sharing dispute.

After over a decade of fact-finding, discussion, World Bank recommendations, and changes, the two countries finally came to an agreement in 1960, and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then-President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan. W.A.B. Iliff, a former World Bank Vice President, also signed it.

What are the key provisions?

The pact outlined how India and Pakistan would divide water from the Indus River System's six rivers. The three western rivers, the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum, were given to Pakistan for unrestricted use, with the exception of certain non-consumptive, agricultural, and household uses by India, whereas the three eastern rivers, the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, were given to India for unrestricted use. This means that Pakistan received 80 percent of the water, or around 135 million acre feet (MAF), whereas India received 33 MAF, or 20 percent of the water.

It also required both countries to create a Permanent Indus Commission, which would be made up of permanent commissioners from both sides. The commission's responsibilities include providing a venue for the exchange of river-related information, fostering continuous collaboration, and serving as a first point of contact for conflict resolution.

While Pakistan has rights to the waters of the Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus, Annexure C of the IWT permits India to use the Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus for agricultural purposes, and Annexure D allows it to develop 'run of the river' hydroelectric plants, which do not require live water storage. It also contains design requirements that India must adhere to when creating such facilities.

Pakistan can also protest to such projects being developed by India if they do not meet the standards, as stipulated in the treaty. India is supposed to communicate information about the project design and any changes made to it with Pakistan, which has three months to respond with any objections.

What were some of the previous treaty objections?

While the pact has been hailed as a successful diplomatic effort that has survived three wars and many military impasses between the two countries, the path has not been without its challenges.

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According to experts, the pact became a source of irritation between the two countries due to rising water demand, the document's vast technical character buried in its annexures, and the fact that the western rivers flow through the conflict-torn region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Moreover, similar to the complaints Pakistan is expected to bring at this year's meeting, it has raised repeated treaty objections over India's hydroelectric and dam developments on the western rivers in the past decades.

The Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP), which was originally a storage-cum-hydropower project, sparked one of the longest confrontations stemming from Pakistan's opposition to Indian initiatives on western water bodies.

The Kishanganga, also known as the Neelum, is a tributary of the Jhelum River that starts in J&K and flows into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The KHEP project began in 2007, with the goal of building a dam on the Kishanganga River, diverting the water to a 330 MW hydropower plant near Bandipora, Kashmir, and then returning it.

The project was planned to be finished by 2016, however Pakistan objected to the height of the dam before building began, fearing that it would result in higher water storage for India. As a result, India agreed to change the design by lowering the tower's height from 97 to 37 metres.

In 2010, Pakistan moved the case to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, claiming that the diversion of water from Kishanganga was illegal. In December 2013, the Court issued its final judgement, giving India permission to proceed with the project, subject to certain limitations.

The issue, however, did not end there; three years later, in 2016, Pakistan approached the World Bank again, objecting to the design. It again attempted to halt dam building in 2016 by shooting shells near the dam site. Despite repeated opposition from Pakistan, the project was finally launched in 2018.

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