Indus Waters Treaty

Not to be confused with Treaty of Indus (303 BCE).
Indus river and tributaries

The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, arranged and negotiated by the World Bank, to use the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries.[1][2][3][4] It was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistani president Field Marshal Ayub Khan.[5][1]

The Treaty gives control over the waters of the three "Eastern Rivers" – the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej located in India with a mean annual flow of 41 billion m3 (33 million acre⋅ft) – to India, while control over the waters of the three "Western Rivers" – the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum located in India with a mean annual flow of 99 billion m3 – to Pakistan.[6] India got about 30% of the total water carried by the Indus Rivers System located in India while Pakistan got the remaining 70%.[7][8] The treaty allows India to use the water of Western Rivers for limited irrigation use and unlimited non-consumptive use such as power generation, navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.[9] It lays down detailed regulations for India in building projects over the Western Rivers. The preamble of the treaty recognises the rights and obligations of each country for the optimum water use from the Indus System of Rivers in a spirit of goodwill, friendship and cooperation. Though the treaty is no way connected with security aspects of both nations, Pakistan, being a downstream nation of both Eastern and Western Rivers, fears that India could potentially create floods or droughts in Pakistan, especially in times of warlike situations.[10][11]

In 1948 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, the water rights on the river system were the focus of an Indo-Pakistani water dispute. Since the ratification of the treaty in 1960, India and Pakistan have not engaged in any water wars, despite engaging in several military conflicts. Most disagreements and disputes have been settled via legal procedures, provided for within the framework of the treaty.[12]

The Indus Waters Treaty is considered one of the most successful water sharing endeavors in the world today, even though analysts acknowledge the need to update certain technical specifications and expand the scope of the agreement to address climate change.[13][14][15][16]

  1. ^ a b Patricia Bauer. "Indus Waters Treaty:India-Pakistan [1960]". Encyclopedia Britannica website. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  2. ^ Daniel Haines (8 March 2017). "The Rivers Run Wild (Indus Waters Treaty-1960) – Nearly 60 Years Since Their Landmark Treaty, The Pakistan-India Water Dispute Remains Contentious". Newsweek (magazine). Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Full text of 'Indus Water Treaty' with Annexures, World Bank" (PDF). 1960. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. ^ "War over water". The Guardian. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  5. ^ "How the Indus Treaty was signed". The Hindu. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference jk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference pak1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Andrew Keller; Jack Keller; David Seckler. "Integrated Water Resource Systems: Theory and Policy Implications" (PDF). Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  9. ^ "India's First Shot at the Indus Waters Treaty". Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Preamble of Indus water treaty" (PDF). Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Indus Water Treaty: Review is not an Option". Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Chaturvedi, A.K. (Spring 2017), "Indus Water Treaty: Options for India" (PDF), Scholar Warrior, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2018
  13. ^ Revisiting or Renegotiating the Indus Water Treaty – A Death Sentence for Peace in South Asia, 2024, retrieved 1 November 2024
  14. ^ Assessing the Indus Waters Treaty from a comparative perspective, 2020, retrieved 18 August 2024
  15. ^ 'Scrapping water treaty is no solution', says Pakistan's Indus waters commissioner, 2014, retrieved 23 March 2020
  16. ^ Bakshi, Gitanjali; Trivedi, Sahiba (2011), Indus Equation (PDF), Strategic Foresight Group, retrieved 28 October 2014