The letter from India requesting to start discussions for the revision of the 62-year-old Indus Water Treaty was deemed “vague” by Pakistan’s minister for climate change on Friday. Islamabad responded by asking New Delhi to provide clarity.
India sent Pakistan a notice earlier this year for the first time asking for a review and revision of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), citing Islamabad’s “intransigence” in adhering to the agreement’s dispute resolution process for issues involving cross-border rivers.
When India accused Pakistan of breaking the agreement and committing a major violation, Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman, testified before the Senate that the contents of the letter addressing the IWT adjustment were “vague.”
She stated, “The Pakistani administration is well aware of the situation and is handling it on its merits.
According to the minister, the government discussed the issue with all pertinent parties, and on April 1 a response was issued to India “asking clarification from the Indian side on the substance of their letter.”
The minister informed the Upper House about the Indian letter and said, “No one can unilaterally amend the Indus Waters Treaty.”
The IWT, which was signed in 1960 thanks to the World Bank, has endured the ups and downs of the tense relations between the nations.
The IWT, according to Rehman, is the only treaty between Pakistan and India that has been approved. It was signed between the two governments in 1960 and has been in effect ever since.
India must make sure that the Treaty is implemented according to its real language and spirit, she said.
Pakistan is committed to the pact and anticipates that India will uphold it, she said.
In response to its notification given more than two months ago asking for a review and revision of the IWT for the management of cross-border rivers, India announced on Thursday that Pakistan had responded.
A few months after the World Bank announced the appointment of a neutral expert and the chair of the Court of Arbitration to resolve the disagreements regarding the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, New Delhi took the significant step of notifying Pakistan of its intention to amend the treaty.
India has expressed particular dissatisfaction with the Court of Arbitration’s selection.
New Delhi views the beginning of the two concurrent procedures to settle the dispute as a breach of the graded system outlined in the treaty and has questioned what would happen if the mechanisms issue divergent conclusions.
India has not aided the Court of Arbitration in any way.
Any disagreements must be settled in accordance with the agreement’s three-stage process.
Nevertheless, the World Bank began two parallel dispute resolution procedures for the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects at the request of Pakistan, which India claimed violated the agreement.