Officials from Pakistan and India recently took part in a two-day meeting facilitated by a neutral expert in Vienna to address their long-standing water dispute. According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, senior advocate Harish Salve led India’s delegation during the meeting.
The representatives from both countries attended the meeting convened under the Indus Waters Treaty. Subsequently, in July of the same year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) rejected India’s objections to its jurisdiction over a water dispute involving two crucial hydropower projects. India had contested the PCA’s ruling.
The PCA’s decision in the Hague affirmed its competence to consider matters concerning the 330-megawatt Kishanganga and the 850MW Ratle hydroelectric projects, which are a bone of contention between the two nuclear neighbors. This ruling followed a protracted legal battle between India and Pakistan, who have not only been locked in water-sharing disputes but also have a history of territorial and maritime conflicts, including over Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), brokered by the World Bank in 1960, India and Pakistan share the waters of six rivers. The IWT allocated the eastern rivers, namely the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, and assigned the western rivers, comprising the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab to Pakistan.
Pakistan accuses India of continuous violations of the IWT by constructing dams on the western rivers. In contrast, India contends that Pakistan controls more water than it should due to the treaty. The construction of dams and the diversion of the Brahmaputra River, which originates in Tibet and supplies a significant portion of India’s irrigation needs, has caused a water dispute between China and India.
