19 October 2020, NIICE Commentary 6306
Pawan Kumar Das
Indus Water Treaty is an international treaty which India does not want to be criticize internationally by breaking it as it is benefiting both countries. Similarly, India does not want to give chance to Pakistan to criticize it at international forums. The flow of Indus water is more than 3000 kilometres, that is, more than the river Ganges. India does not want to break the Indus Water Treaty but it is not that India cannot break the Indus Water Treaty. Brahma Chellaney, author of ‘Water: Asia’s New Battleground’ states that “According to Vienna Agreement, Section 62 of the Law of Treaties, India can break the treaty by saying that Pakistan is using extremist groups against India”. While water conflicts are erupting around the world, water cooperation between India and Pakistan has emerged as an excellent example.
Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan
India and Pakistan are the permanent enemies of South Asia, yet the Indus Water Treaty between the two countries remain intact since 1960. There has been no dispute between the two countries on the Indus Water issue till now. After the war of independence, India stopped the waters of the Indus River on 1 April 1948, causing severe water scarcity in Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh Province, which was later opened by India following the World Bank’s recommendation. Pakistan feared that India could use Indus water as a weapon during the war, so Pakistan took the Indus River dispute to the World Bank, in World Bank arbitration Indus water treaty was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960, between the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s Air Field Marshal Ayub Khan. The agreement provided that three western rivers -Indus, Jhelum and Chenab would be under the jurisdiction of Pakistan whose 20 per cent water could be used by India for irrigation and other uses. If India builds a Hydropower Project on these rivers then it will be a ‘Run of River’ project because India cannot stop the flow of these rivers. As a result of the Indus Water Treaty, three eastern rivers- Ravi, Beas and Sutlej came in the part of India, on which the entire water will be under the possession of India.
There were direct wars between India and Pakistan in 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999, but the Indus Water Treaty remained effective. India never worried about the Indus Water Treaty and never stopped the flow of water from entering the territory of Pakistan. The reason is that the Indus Water Treaty is under the supervision of the World Bank and Pakistan has expressed concern to the World Bank many times about the Indus Water Treaty. India does not want to lose its image in the eyes of World Bank, so it does not go against the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan is also convinced that India would not unilaterally end the Indus Water Treaty; therefore, it continues to carry out terrorist activities in India. At the time of the September 2016 attack on India Army in Uri, India for the first time expressed concern about the Indus Water Treaty. Indian PM Narendra Modi had taken cognizance that “Water and blood cannot flow together”.
Pakistan’s Concern about Indus Water
Pakistan alleges that India is not giving the Indus River water to Pakistan in the amount it should, while according to the agreement, India can use only 20 percent of the Indus River water. China is openly supporting this allegation of Pakistan while China has 87000 large dams strategically constructed in Tibet, which poses a threat of flood and natural disaster in the downstream areas of India. However, China has objected to the dam built by India on the Indus River Basin (Shahpur Kandi Dam project, Sutlej- Beas Link, Ujh Dam project) because it will decrease the flow of water in Pakistan. Pakistan is worried as all its rivers pass through India. If India builds dams on rivers, then it will directly affect Pakistan, therefore, opposes the Indian dams such as Pakal Dul dam which is to be built on the Chenab River. In 2016, Pakistan complained to the World Bank about the Kishan Ganga and Ratle Hydropower Project to be built by India stating that the project violates the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan is an agricultural country whose 80 percent area (26 million acres of land) is dependent on the Indus River Basin for irrigation, making Indus water the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. The Indus River Basin spreads over 11 million square kilometers. If India stops the waters on these rivers, Pakistan’s agriculture system and Hydropower Projects will be badly affected. Hence, if Pakistan continues to use terror against India, India should rethink about Indus waters.
