Indus Waters Treaty: A Legal Perspective

Introduction

The Indus Waters Treaty, 1960¹, has been in the news of late. Most discussions have revolved around India's decision to put the Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. The disputes around the Treaty are however not new. For the past about 2 years, India has been calling upon Pakistan to discuss and agree to modifications to the Treaty in light of changed circumstances.

This article presents certain key facts, summarises the controversies and discusses the way forward.

The Indus Basin

The Indus and its five tributaries (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) comprise one of the great river systems in the world. Its waters have cradled ancient civilizations and are steeped in history, religion and culture. The India - Pakistan partition drew a line across the Indus system, rendering sharing of its waters a vexed issue. After years of discussion the World Bank proposed and facilitated the Treaty.