India Had Suspended Indus Water Treaty Without Informing World Bank

The World Bank has not been informed of India라이브 바카라 decision to place the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) “in abeyance,” even as India formally communicated the move to Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that killed at least 26 people.

Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, wrote to her Pakistan counterpart Syed Ali Murtaza on Thursday:

“The obligation to honour a treaty in good faith is fundamental to a treaty. However, what we have seen instead is sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan targeting the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Her letter added that the “security uncertainties” have directly impeded India라이브 바카라 “full utilisation rights” and Pakistan라이브 바카라 failure to respond to past renegotiation requests was a “breach of trust.”

Despite the treaty라이브 바카라 international significance and the World Bank라이브 바카라 historical role as a mediator in disputes under the IWT, a government source said that since Pakistan had been informed, there was “no need” to inform the World Bank.

In response, a World Bank spokesperson said:

“It did not opine on treaty-related sovereign decisions taken by its member countries.”

Reaffirming its longstanding view on the IWT, the Bank stated:

“The Indus Water Treaty is an agreement between India and Pakistan that has been profoundly important and successful for more than 60 years.”

When asked about further action, the spokesperson clarified that the Bank was only a “signatory to the treaty for a limited set of defined tasks.”

The treaty, signed in 1960, governs the use of waters from the Indus basin, with India restricted from building storage-heavy projects on the Western rivers , Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. While the Permanent Indus Commission facilitates technical cooperation between the countries, it has not met since 2022.

In 2023, India had called for a renegotiation of the treaty citing changing realities, including rising water demand, climate-related challenges, and national security. India라이브 바카라 main demand was to evolve a new dispute resolution mechanism.

A scientist affiliated to the Central Water Commission stated:

“For India to weaponise the waters of the Indus, it has to completely ignore the IWT. Under the current terms of the treaty, this can’t be done.”

Sources indicated that following the Pahalgam attack, India is exploring options “never considered” before, such as redesigning hydropower projects to increase water storage and using “draw down flushing” a technique primarily used for maintenance but with potential to affect downstream flow.