Pawan Kumar
India questions the World Bank’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty
“Unable to comprehend treaty”: India’s jab at the World Bank about the Indus Waters Treaty India on Thursday questioned the World Bank’s decision to push ahead with two parallel processes to address a dispute with Pakistan over two hydroelectric projects on cross-border rivers, saying this is not in consonance with rules of the Indus Waters Treaty.
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Thursday in NEW DELHI, India questioned the World Bank’s decision to proceed with two parallel processes to address a dispute with Pakistan over two hydroelectric projects on cross-border rivers, arguing that this is not in accordance with the Indus Waters Treaty.
India notified Pakistan on January 25 of its intention to revise the 62-year-old World Bank-brokered deal for the management of cross-border rivers because the Pakistani side’s “intransigence” in resolving disputes cast doubt on the pact’s validity.
At the core of the current standoff is the World Bank’s decision to select a neutral expert at India’s request and to proceed with an arbitration court at Pakistan’s urging to resolve the dispute over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
India has emphasised that the treaty stipulates a tiered procedure for resolving such disputes, which should be addressed first by the Commissioners for Indus Waters of the two countries, then by a neutral expert, and finally by an arbitration court.
“The World Bank itself…acknowledged the challenge of having two concurrent processes. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for India’s ministry of external affairs, told a weekly media briefing that based on the government’s interpretation and evaluation, this is contrary to the conditions of the treaty.
“Therefore, we have been discussing a graduated approach…
I don’t think our resistance has changed at any of this,” he added, noting that the World Bank had declared it was going ahead with the two processes because both countries had asked for them.
