NEW DELHI: On 30th August, India served a formal notice to Pakistan seeking a review and modification of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) under Article XII(3) of the Treaty.Article XII(3) of the IWT allows for the modification of the Treaty through a duly ratified agreement concluded between the two governments for that purpose.Through this notification, India has invited Pakistan to initiate government-to-government (G2G) negotiations to review the Treaty under the provisions of Article XII(3). According to a source, “India’s notification highlights fundamental and unforeseen changes in circumstances that require a reassessment of obligations under various Articles of the Treaty. Among various concerns, important ones include changes in population demographics, environmental issues—such as the need to accelerate the development of clean energy to meet India’s emission targets—and the impact of persistent cross-border terrorism.”This notification comes in the backdrop of a prolonged controversy regarding the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects. In this regard, the World Bank has activated both the Neutral Expert mechanism and the Court of Arbitration simultaneously on the same set of issues. India has therefore called for reconsideration of the dispute resolution mechanism under the Treaty.The IWT was signed on 19th September 1960 in Karachi between Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s Field Marshal General Ayub Khan. Under the terms of the Treaty, control over the three eastern rivers (Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej) with an annual flow of 41 billion cubic metres located in India was given to India, while control of the three western rivers (Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum) was allocated to Pakistan.India contends that Pakistan has intentionally obstructed all projects on the Indian side and has unfairly benefited under the IWT.
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