Daily Times

A joint sitting of the two committees of the National Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution seeking immediate suspension of work on two disputed projects by India and constitution of an arbitration court to resolve the ongoing water dispute between the two countries.The resolution adopted by the committee on foreign affairs, water and power, called upon the World Bank to constitute a court of arbitration to adjudicate on issues raised by Pakistan against India’s ongoing construction of Kishanganga and Ratle hydro projects.Under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), it is the responsibility of the World Bank to play its role without further delay.Until the World Bank constitutes the court of arbitration, it must persuade India to put an immediate halt to ongoing construction of the Ratle dam till the issue is resolved, read the joint resolution adopted unanimously by both the government and opposition members of the committees.

The construction of dams on the western rivers by India has brought the two countries at loggerheads and Pakistan has engaged the World Bank, a facilitator of the IWT, to stop India from going ahead with the construction so that the treaty could be followed smoothly in future.

Ahmer Bilal Soofi, an expert on international treaties, informed the committees that India couldn’t scrap the IWT unilaterally. “Scrapping of the treaty unilaterally will be a violation.”It was also a part of the international treaty to maintain a minimum level of water in rivers, he said.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of scrapping the IWT would also pose a serious threat to peace in the region, he added.

The issue of Kishangangahydroproject was disputed in the international court of arbitration in 2011, while Pakistan is taking the matter of Ratle as well as other planned dams by India to the court of arbitration. The issue had remained largely undiscussed until recently when the relations between Pakistan and India deteriorated following the Uri attacks in India in the latter half of the year. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had threatened to scrap the Indus Water Treaty, which had forced the World Bank to take notice of the issue.

Pakistan has maintained that India has been diverting the attention of the world from the situation in Kashmir with such statements. But this adoption of aresolution by the two committees of the National Assembly shows the threat a violation of the treaty poses towards the peace in the region. Analysts have termed the water issue much bigger threat for the region than the Kashmir issue.

The leaderships in Islamabad and New Delhi should realise the implications of any untoward move towards the stability of the region. Economies of both the countries have been performing considerably well in recent times, which can usher a new era of development to bring millions of people out of poverty. In such circumstances where the region stands at a point to make the lives of their inhabitants better, a knee-jerk reaction could result in provocation leadingto a full-scale war that the two countries can ill afford. Therefore, it is the duty of the arbiter to ensure that a party does not violate the treaties signed between the two nations, hence, minimisingthe threat of war. *