Water, the life-giving elixir is the ultimate paradox. With the ability to both extinguish and create, it is a force to reckon with. It can douse raging infernos and unleash its fury upon the enemy, leaving behind nothing in its wake. Water has often been subjected to dispute between nations, be it in the international waters or in the form of the Indus Water Treaty.
About the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)
The Indus Waters Treaty, which was negotiated by the World Bank in the year 1960 to dole out water resources of the Indus River System, seems to be losing relevance owing to the conundrum of time. The treaty has for decades prevented weaponization of water in the subcontinent despite serious tension between India and Pakistan. But, owing to Pakistan’s hostile attitude and growing domestic needs, India seems to finally run out of patience on the Indus Water Treaty.
India summons Pakistan for IWT renegotiations
New Delhi has recently issued a refresh notice to Islamabad accusing the terrorist neighbour of being “intransigent” on the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The purported notice seeks to modify the six-decade old IWT that governs water sharing between India and Pakistan.
The most aggressive response of India on the IWT was witnessed in the wake of the Uri attack in 2016. Following the attack, Delhi had suspended all biannual talks with Pakistan and pledged to recoup with ‘fast-track’ projects to capitalize on the untapped water from the eastern rivers allotted to India.
Impact of terrorist attacks on IWT
In the wake of the Pulwama attack in February 2019, where a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian soldiers, India announced that it would review the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The then Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stated that India would exploit to the maximum the water of the three rivers allocated to it under the treaty: the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi.
The vision of India has been quite clear ever since as “blood (through terrorism) and water cannot flow together.” The IWT disagreement has been on the fore since then. The Indian government has been working at war-footing on the multipurpose Shahpur Kandi and Ujh dams, as well as the Beas-Sutlej river-linking project. In addition, the two nations have been at odds for years over Indian plans to build the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power facilities in Jammu and Kashmir.
India’s inflexible stance to choke Pakistan
As per recent reports, India has declared that it wants to change the 62-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. The move by India can be said to be in response to what it described Pakistan’s “intransigence” in resolving disagreements over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects. Both the projects are located in Jammu and Kashmir.
India also objected to Pakistan’s “unilateral” decision to contact The Hague-based arbitration court, despite the existing provision of Article VIII under IWT that provides that the two nations should meet at least once a year to discuss cooperation on the Indus River System. However, the notorious Pakistan has been hesitant in extending cooperation in spite of the fact that the two nations last met in May 2022 in Delhi.
As per the reports of The Hindu, India has instead responded by writing to Pakistan on Wednesday, January 25, calling for modifications to the treaty as per Article XII (3) of the IWT that deals with the “final provisions” of the treaty. Earlier, India took a rigid stance of boycotting the first hearing of the case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague that began on Friday at Pakistan’s request. In addition, the decision of New Delhi to issue notice to Pakistan, with a request to respond within 90 days, is seen as a huge leap forward towards reconciling and renegotiating the water sharing treaty.
The recent move of India suggests that India is in no mood to compromise with its stance on IWT. India is planning to go all guns blazing against Pakistan and ensure the renegotiations are put to place. However, the renegotiations would not only enhance Indian stake in the treaty but would also deepen the water crisis in Pakistan.
The entire agrarian setup of Pakistan is heavily dependent on the Indus River system. With Indian dams being constructed, Pakistan would be taught a harsh lesson. More significantly, India has gone ahead with the construction of the Ratle hydroelectric project that is expected to complete in 2023, and through the dam network India can choke the water supply of Pakistan. Therefore, by putting the renegotiation plan in place, India has set the clock ticking for the balkanisation of Pakistan.
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