Indian delegation reaches Pakistan for talks on Indus water treaty

A nine-member Indian delegation arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday to hold talks on Indus water treaty with Pakistani authorities. The talks have been scheduled for August 29 and August 30. The Indian delegation is led by Water Commissioner PK Saxena.

The delegation was welcomed at the border by Pakistan’s water commissioner Syed Mehr Ali Shah. The talks are slated to be held at the Lahore headquarters of National Engineering Services of Pakistan.

The last meeting of the Pakistan-India Permanent Indus Commission was held in New Delhi in March during which both the sides had shared details of the water flow and the quantum of water being used under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

This is for the first time when authorities from both the countries will discuss Indus water treaty since Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan became the Prime Minister of the neighbouring country.

India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the World Bank being a signatory.

The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers. However, there have been disagreements and differences between India and Pakistan over the treaty.

This comes months after a Pakistani delegation raised concerns about the treaty with the World Bank in May. The World Bank had said that it had failed to reach an agreement with the Pakistani delegation over the same.

During the meetings, held at Pakistan's request to discuss issues regarding the Indus Waters Treaty and opportunities within the treaty to seek an amicable resolution, "several procedural options" for resolving the disagreement over the interpretation of the treaty's provisions were discussed, the bank had said.

"While an agreement on the way forward was not reached at the conclusion of the meetings, the World Bank will continue to work with both countries to resolve the issues in an amicable manner and in line with the treaty provisions," the Bank had said in a statement at the end of the talks.

(With PTI Inputs)