Daily Times

Narendra Modi, a hardliner Indian Prime Minister, has kicked off the disputed 330 MW Kishanganga hydropower station on 20th May. Woefully, this hydroelectric power plant is built on Kishanganga River which is a feeder and confluent to river Jhelum; popularly known as Neelum in Pakistan. The formation and official commencement of the aforementioned dam by India is a blatant violation of Indus Basin Treaty (IBT-1960) and the international junctions of bilateral treaties.

Not only this, India has stood firmly controvert to Pakistan’s demand to appoint neutral expert to bring a halt to this emerging political wrangling. History is witness to the fact that Pakistan has always made efforts for the peaceful resolution of Kishanganga project on Neelum River and 850 MW Ratle dam on Chenab River.

It is worthwhile to mention too that despite coordinated sessions of talks between India, Pakistan and World Bank’s guarantor of the IBT-mediation, India has continued her bid to inaugurate and complete the disputed project which started in 2009.

Perusing it further, the stubborn attitude of India towards international commitments clearly unveils its nefarious designs towards Pakistan. Since the ascendance of Modi to the Indian PM House, he has terribly escalated the lurking tensions by diverting the flow of western rivers (Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum), which is also tantamount to violation of IBT and international norms.

Pakistan has intelligently put forward her honest demands before the World Bank to establish a court of arbitration to address the misunderstandings between the two neighbours. India agreed and demanded the appointment of a neutral expert, causing a deadlock

Therefore, being stuck in a perpetual conventional threat of war over political pitfalls of the dam controversy, Pakistan has intelligently put forward her honest demand before World Bank to establish a court of arbitration to address the misunderstandings between the two neighbours. At the same time, India agreed and demanded appointing a neutral expert — to cause a deadlock. World Bank initially gave assent to both the demands but India objected to the fallacy of the process of appointing two parallel processes. Therefore to defuse tensions, World Bank adopted a stance of taking a pause and asked both the parties involved to settle their dispute through bilateral avenues. World Bank provided the justification of this act by writing a letter to both nuclear armed nations which maintains, “We are announcing this pause to protect the IWT and to help India and Pakistan to consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the treaty and its application to two hydro electric power plants. This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January.”

The posture adopted by the World Bank entirely follows the suit of the Indian argument. On the other hand, World Bank has skilfully avoided repairing the strained relations of India and Pakistan by putting all the responsibilities of reconciliation and peaceful deliberations on the shoulders of the embittered rivals. The careful analysis of the ongoing scenario brings many questions to the spotlight. Why has the World Bank closed its eyes on the lurking dangers emanating from the notorious IBT? And why is World Bank offering deaf ears to Pakistan’s genuine demand of appointing a mediator to solve this issue according to the terms of IBT’s terms and conditions?

The recently updated factsheet reveals that India is deliberately violating the international norms and describing Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP) as a storage work for power generation only. However, Pakistan has rationally and lawfully maintained and proved her stance that Indian design of KHEP will divert water from Neelum River into the Bonar Madmati Nullah. The bottom line is that India is violating Article 111(2) of IBT which clearly specifies that the entire flows of western rivers belong to Pakistan. The Article 4(6) of IWT also safeguards the natural flow of the rivers and India is violating this article as well.

Pakistan is crucially involved in this issue owing to its importance. Pakistan, being an agrarian economy, relies heavily on Indus river tributaries because they are vital for sustainable livelihood, food security and economic conditions.

Moreover, India’s aggressive attitude towards Pakistan has further escalated the frosty ties between the two neighbours over the issue of the disputed Kishanganga dam. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has openly threatened to launch a water war against Pakistan.

The World Bank has postponed the involvement for time being and referred it back for bilateral settlement. But that did not work. It is therefore high time for World Bank to realise its responsibilities, being the guarantor of the treaty, and must step up for the resolution of the issue. The World Bank should discharge its obligations under the IBT by taking the rational demand of Pakistan for the appointment of arbitration.Khan has never been so lax about how public opines at his notions, as a democratic leader always cares for his reputation in masses

The writer can be reached at asadhussainma@yahoo.com

Published in Daily Times, May 29^th 2018.