Staunch the breach: On India, Pakistan and the Indus Waters Treaty
In its fourth notice to Pakistan since January 2023, India has escalated its demand for the renegotiation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), now calling off all meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) until Pakistan agrees to sit at the table for talks. India’s demand last year followed a logjam in the entire process, once held up internationally as a model template for water-sharing agreements. Even in the new millennium, the tenets of the treaty held firm, and India was able to win two major disputes by adhering to the processes laid out, including the Baglihar Dam project in 2007, and another dispute over allegations that India was interfering with Pakistan’s Neelum project in 2013. The issue over how to proceed on dispute resolution for the Kishenganga and Ratle projects h...