Indus Water Treaty to be renegotiated, not to be considered on old terms, say govt sources

The Indus Water Treaty will be renegotiated and not considered on old terms, say government sources. India wants to rework the treaty according to its interests under international rules that makes it mandatory to provide water to lower areas.

According to sources, Pakistan’s request to reinstate the Indus Water Treaty will not be considered, but reworked. This comes after Pakistan formally urged India to reconsider its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack. 

The government believes that the treaty, signed in September 1960 was very generous towards Pakistan, sources said. The treaty was signed between the two countries under goodwill and friendship at that point. 

However, Pakistan has broken that goodwill and friendship by promoting terrorism in the last three decades. India will not violate international rules but will take its fair share of water.

The treaty is a long-term project and will be worked upon accordingly. However it hinges on the fact that there is no anti-India activity from Pakistan. 

Sources said that the government is of the mind to rework the treaty according to the needs and reality of the current times, unlike the original treaty which was engineered according to the 50s and the 60s era. It is important to renegotiate the treaty, keeping in mind the current climate change, melting of glaciers, amount of water available in rivers, increasing population and clean energy. 

After the suspension of the treaty, Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resource wote to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, warning that New Delhi’s move to halt the treaty could create a crisis in Pakistan. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a briefing that the Indus Waters Treaty was concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship as specified in the preamble of the treaty. However, Pakistan has held these principles in abeyance by its promotion of cross-border terrorism for decades.

The 1960 treaty, brokered by the World Bank, allocated control over the three eastern rivers to India and the three western rivers to Pakistan, ensuring continued cooperation even during heightened tensions.