Next round of India-Pakistan water talks in jeopardy

A two-day meeting between the Indus water commissioners of Pakistan and India concluded on Tuesday, with New Delhi 'acknowledging' objections raised by Islamabad over the controversial hydropower projects on the Chenab River. The Indian side also agreed to halt progress and review the design of its 120-megawatt Miyar project.

 However, a Hindustan Times report on Wednesday hints at a possible confrontation again between the two countries over the Indus Waters Treaty that could put the Washington meet under a cloud.

According to the Indian newspaper report, India may not attend a World Bank (WB) proposed secretary-level talks with Pakistan in the US during April 2017 as it finds the proposed meet against the 'spirit of the pact'.

"India believes that there is no need to look for another mechanism to break the deadlock since the treaty already had a dispute resolution system built in," sources familiar with the developments told the HT.

The report explained that "India also believes the WB which brokered the pact in 1960 has lately been "biased" in following the treaty provisions."

It said India cannot be party to any meeting "which is against the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty".

The World Bank was playing the role of a 'mediator' whereas it should be a 'facilitator' between India and Pakistan to resolve the issues "in accordance with the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty", maintained sources in the report.

"New Delhi feels the World Bank continues to work against the spirit of the pact by initiating two separate dispute resolution mechanisms," said the Indian newspaper.

The treaty between Pakistan and India was signed by President Ayub Khan and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on September 19, 1960.

Touted as a milestone in the history of international water diplomacy, the treaty is a 57-year-old accord between the two neighbours on how to share water from the rivers that flow through their territory.

The 113th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission in Islamabad this week was the first since India suspended dialogue under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following a militant attack on an Indian military base in Uri in September 2016.