Renegotiate the Indus treaty

BS OPINION

When Pakistan's Indus Water Commission team inspected the Baglihar project in Jammu and Kashmir last week, nobody expected it to give a clean chit to the 450 mw hydropower project in Doda district.

But what has surprised everybody is the reported recommendation by the Commission to the Pakistan government, for 'neutral third party inspection' of the project even before the team has formally submitted its report on its return to Pakistan.

This has confirmed Pakistan's true motive for perpetuating this controversy, in that it goes beyond any real technical flaw in the project or violation of the agreed design.

This is not the first time that Pakistan has used such tactics to delay water developmental projects. It did the same in the case of the Salal project, and has already indicated that it will repeat history for the Kishanganga project and the Tulbul navigational lock project.

What Pakistan does not realise is that such machinations can boomerang. In this case, it can strengthen the plea put forth by many that the four-decade-old Indus water treaty has outlived its utility and needs to be reviewed.

Of course, this can also end up fomenting tacit support for the demand, raised by some, for abrogating the treaty, though such a step will be untenable.

For one thing, this is an international treaty, brokered by the World Bank and subject to adjudication in the International Court of Justice. Abrogation would also give Pakistan an extra claim to Kashmir as being its water lifeline.

Under the circumstances, the best course is to press for negotiating an Indus water treaty-II, to replace the present one as it has inherent fundamental flaws.

This treaty is neither a genuinely water sharing treaty nor a benefit sharing one. It merely divides the rivers between the two countries.

Of the six major rivers of the Indus system, the three flowing east (Sutlej, Beas and Ravi) have been apportioned to India and the three flowing west (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab) to Pakistan.

The treaty has, of course, permitted India to use the waters of the western-flowing rivers for legitimate consumptive purposes, like drinking, and non-consumptive use for activities like timber floating, navigation, flood protection and fisheries.

India is also entitled to irrigate 1.34 million acres with the water from these rivers. However, these stipulations were arbitrarily conceived, irrespective of the economic potential of each river basin.

Now that both countries have a better understanding of the present and future availability and requirement of water in the region, a more realistic water and benefit sharing accord can and should be worked out.

What Pakistan needs to appreciate is that a well-conceived arrangement would benefit it as much as India.

For, the water problem in Pakistan is going to be much more critical in the years to come, than in India. The gain for India is that it will be able to take up water development projects, unhindered.