Amid normalisation of ties, India, Pakistan to hold talks on Indus water sharing today

New Delhi: After a gap of nearly two years, the top officials of India and Pakistan will hold a two-day meeting beginning Tuesday (March 23) to discuss the Indus water sharing between the two nations.

The talks also reflect the normalising of ties between the two-nuclear powered nations. A delegation from Pakistan had reached New Delhi on Monday to hold talks with India under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

The treaty warrants the two sides to meet once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan. However, the last year`s meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi was cancelled in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This will be an important meeting. We will engage with India in accordance with the Indus Water treaty. We are hopeful regarding this meeting," Mehran Ali Shah, Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters said.

Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehran Ali Shah will lead the delegation while the Indian delegation will be led by India's Indus Commissioner PK Saxena with his advisors from the Central Water Commission, Central Electricity Authority and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.

India and Pakistan have engaged in a long outstanding water dispute over two hydroelectric projects. Pakistan has raised objection to the building of the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric plants by India, saying that it violates the provisions of the treaty. 

India insists on its right to build these projects and hold that their design is fully in compliance with the guidelines of the treaty. The World Bank had asked both the countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements over the Indus Water Treaty Dispute 1960.

Indus Water Treaty

The Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) is a bilateral commission of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage goals of the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, brokered by the World Bank. 

It comprises the Indus Commissioners from both sides and discusses technical matters related to the implementation of the treaty. The last India-Pakistan PIC was held in Lahore, Pakistan in August 2018. The Indian delegation was led by PK Saxena, the Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed between then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Pakistan President Ayub Khan in 1960.

The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission, which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries. It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties.