'Reports Should Not Divert Attention From...': Pakistan On India Notice Over Indus Waters Treaty

Pakistan's reaction comes days after New Delhi issued a notice to Islamabad seeking modification of the more than six-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty.

The treaty defines the water-sharing arrangement for six rivers of the Indus basin ( Image Source :Getty Images )

Days after India issued an ultimatum to Pakistan over amending the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), the Pakistan Foreign Ministry on Friday said such reports should not divert attention from proceedings going on at the Court of Arbitration in The Hague. India is constructing two hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) -- the Kishenganga HEP on the Kishenganga, a tributary of the Jhelum and the Ratle HEP on the Chenab. Pakistan has objected to these projects.

"A Court of Arbitration is holding its first hearing in The Hague on Pakistan's objections to Kishanganga and Ratle Hydroelectric Projects. The Court of Arbitration has been set up under the relevant provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty," said Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson of the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Such media reports should not divert attention from the important proceedings of the Court of Arbitration," she further said.

India issued the notice to Pakistan on January 25, saying Islamabad had violated the provisions of the IWT over the construction of the two hydroelectric power plants, and hence sought an amendment to it, government sources told ABP Live. New Delhi has sought Islamabad's response within 90 days.

READ | India Issues Ultimatum To Pakistan On Indus Water Treaty As Islamabad Seeks Legal Battle Over 2 Hydel Plants

"Pakistani intransigence on the Indus Waters Treaty forced India to issue a notice of modification to the Treaty for the first time since the pact came into existence in 1960… Notice was conveyed on January 25 through respective Commissioners for Indus Waters. This is as per Article XII (3) of IWT," said an official source.

The current impasse erupted following the recent actions taken by the World Bank in this issue. The World Bank, which is also a signatory to the treaty, had been the main facilitator in the negotiations when the pact was signed on September 19, 1960, by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's President Mohammed Ayub Khan in Karachi.

In October 2022, the World Bank, looking into demands made by both sides, appointed a neutral expert as well as a chairman of the Court of Arbitration. 

While it was New Delhi that wanted a neutral expert to look into the concerns of both sides over the two projects, Islamabad wanted to fight out legally at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

While Michel Lino was appointed as the 'Neutral Expert' by the World Bank, as demanded by India, Professor Sean Murphy was appointed as Chairman of the Court of Arbitration, last year, as was asked by Pakistan. 

However, India is upset that while an expert has been appointed to look into the matter, Pakistan has made it a legal battle of sorts. According to New Delhi, both demands cannot be accommodated under the provisions of the treaty. 

"Such parallel consideration of the same issues is not covered under any provision of IWT…Faced with such violation of IWT provisions, India has been compelled to issue notice of modification," said a source.

The sources also added that the objective of the notice for modification is to provide Pakistan an opportunity to enter into intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days "to rectify the material breach of IWT". 

(With inputs from Nayanima Basu)