Rights and Responsibilities

Six decades ago, India and Pakistan signed an important agreement known as the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) to regulate their use of water in the Indus Rivers System (IRS). Based upon the terms of this treaty, Pakistan and India will have equal access to the Indus River and its tributaries. This treaty has been in effect for sixty years, and despite the diplomatic tensions between both countries, it has been functioning sufficiently without a hitch. But now, due to the on-going upstream water infrastructure projects, the agreement between both countries is in jeopardy. For this reason, the water issue between India and Pakistan is escalating at the moment.

On January 25, 2023, Pakistan received a notification from India’s Indus Water Commissioner to “alter,” “amend,” or “revise” the 1960 Water Treaty. Even though Pakistan has started arbitration at The Hague’s Court of Arbitration, India has suggested that a neutral expert can be appointed to solve the conflict. On January 27 and 28, 2023, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan vs. Republic of India case was argued before the Court of Arbitration for the Indus Waters Treaty. At the first session of the Court of Arbitration, India did not show up and chose not to take part. India has already said in written communication that the country believes the Court of Arbitration lacks the authority to hear the issues at hand and that an alternative mechanism with a neutral expert should be established following the Indus Water Treaty. The Arbitration Court agreed with India’s objection and said that it must be resolved before the case can proceed.

Since Pakistan objected to India’s hydroelectric projects, particularly Kishanganga and Ratle on the Jhelum and Chenab Rivers, as a breach of the deal by attempting to interrupt and redirect the streams, the nations have been at odds. Initially, both sides agreed to have unbiased experts look into the problem. However, Pakistan later brokered this deal and asked a court to settle the disagreement. The World Bank, which was in charge of negotiating the treaty, was not able to bring the parties together. Instead, it permitted them to use different methods, such as impartial experts and arbitration courts. It should be clear that the treaty can’t be changed without the consent of all parties. This gives room for the two sides to negotiate and reach a mutually agreeable solution to their issues.

Pakistan should see India’s request to change the IWT as an opportunity to rethink and reinterpret the agreement in light of modern technological, and operational standards and the need to protect the environment. Reviving and strengthening the discussion about IWT would be beneficial for both countries since it would lead to more fair use of the waterway system, greater global reliability, and greater potential for socio-economic progress. It’s an opportunity to improve an outmoded system that facilitates resource exploitation and doesn’t give workers enough ways to work together. Given that water is always changing in terms of both its quantity and its quality, the assumption made at the time of the agreement was very wrong. This is especially true now that it has been found that the Canal Irrigation River system faces environmental and climate risks. Even though India and Pakistan have had many fights, this agreement gives them the chance to decide how the Indus River and its five tributaries are shared and used. As part of the accord, India and Pakistan agreed to have frequent meetings to address any issues that may arise with the agreement and to work together to find solutions to any disagreements that may arise. Although there have been some disagreements and hiccups, the agreement has been largely effective in bringing the two countries together to share the Indus River.

India’s request for a change to the agreement in the past few years, on the other hand, has brought the issue back into the spotlight. Although IWT has had a lot of success so far, the signatories still need to integrate certain changes, such as a better dispute resolution process, into the agreement. To make sure the treaty stays relevant and useful, it needs to take into account new factors like climate change, dwindling resources, and political tensions. Both countries need to work together to solve these problems, and it’s not just because they need water and have to share it. India and Pakistan may help make the IWT relevant in the future by renewing their commitment to the treaty and expanding its scope of application as the world faces an uncertain future.

With a good deal of mistrust and mutual charges of violation of the treaty’s spirit and essence between parties, the IWT has withstood tensions, conflicts, and wars. Yet, the world community generally sees it as a model of effective water management. New climate patterns pose both immediate and future threats, so the status quo needs to be changed to deal with the changing conditions in the Indus Basin. Given this, the two countries should use this as a chance to refocus and renegotiate a meaningful debate about the IWT’s needed changes to meet the area’s current and future water needs, outside of the dispute resolution provisions.

The issue of climate change is a fundamental gap in the agreement that must be filled to make it fully effective. To be more specific, changes in the amount of rain and melting glaciers could affect the amount of water in these rivers, which could affect how well the treaty works. There is a decent opportunity that any change or impedance with the settled water framework in the Indus Stream and its tributaries will unintendedly affect the agreement’s goal of distributing water fairly. As a result, both countries need to think about how climate change may affect the Indus River and the treaty and figure out how to adapt to it and lessen its impact. The agreement might need to be changed to reflect these changes so that people can still get clean water even though the climate is changing. Even though the IWT has helped make it less likely that India and Pakistan will have a full-scale water war by making it easier for them to work together to manage their shared resources, big problems still need to be solved. India and Pakistan need to make sure the Indus River Treaty is flexible and can adapt to the changing environment. Follow the spirit of the treaty, which spells out the rights and responsibilities of both countries when it comes to keeping the treaty and keeping peace in the region. This will help us get past these problems.