Indus Waters Treaty row: India seeks pause in Kishanganga, Ratle dispute proceeding
NEW DELHI: India has formally requested a pause in proceedings related to disputes over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects, as it seeks to take control over its western river systems under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), officials on Tuesday said.
The government has in a letter addressed to World Bank-appointed neutral expert Michel Lino called for the suspension of the agreed work programme that outlines Pakistan's written submissions by August and joint discussions scheduled for November.
India put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The World Bank has not yet issued a response.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India has two options: Share Indus water fairly or we'll take all six rivers, says Bilawal Bhutto
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned India against suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, deeming it an illegal act. He asserted that Pakistan would retaliate if its water rights were violated, even suggesting potential military action. He also advocated for renewed dialogue and counterterrorism cooperation, while accusing India of targeting Pakistan on international platforms and politicizing terrorism issues. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads No Legal Basis for Suspension, Says Bhutto Urges Resumption of Dialogue and Anti-Terror Cooperation Accuses India of Targeting Pakistan on Global Platforms Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Indus Waters Treaty: A Rare Surviving Accord Popular in India Not the first time Bhutto has threatened India Former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari issued a strong warning to India on Monday over its suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), stating that Pakistan would not remain passive if its water rights were infringed. Speaking during Pakistan's National Assembly budget session, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman called India's decision 'illegal and provocative.''India has two options: share water fairly, or we will take it from all six rivers,' Bilawal said, referring to India's announcement to suspend the 1960 treaty following the April 23 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based maintained that the treaty does not permit unilateral withdrawal. 'India's claim that the treaty is in abeyance has no legal basis. According to the UN Charter, cutting off water is a form of aggression,' he said, adding that India's course of action could risk open conflict. 'We do not want war, but if water is used as a weapon, Pakistan will be forced to act — and we are in a position to defeat India just as we have before,' he former foreign minister also urged the resumption of dialogue and counterterrorism cooperation . He argued that India's politicisation of terrorism issues had hindered regional peace. 'Without engagement, violence will only increase,' he further accused India of misusing international forums to target Pakistan, referencing India's lobbying efforts during Pakistan's removal from the FATF grey list. He criticised what he described as 'PM Modi's new normal,' where terrorist incidents are followed by immediate threats. 'We suffer more attacks than India — many linked to Indian funding. Should we respond in kind?' he concluded by stressing that sustainable peace in South Asia requires dialogue and mutual trust. The IWT, signed in 1960, allocates water from six rivers between India and Pakistan. India controls the eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej – while Pakistan has rights over the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.'The Indus is ours and will remain ours - either our water will flow through it, or their blood,' former foreign minister was quoted saying by Pakistani media few days after India put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance in response to the Pahalgam massacre.(With inputs from TOI)
The Wire
2 hours ago
- The Wire
A Moment of Truth, an Admission of Failure?
Badri Raina 5 minutes ago Imagine that the one country which India regards as the epicentre of terrorism, namely, Pakistan, should be having it so good even as Indian delegations have been making India's case to the West. There could be no more poignant admission of the failure of India's diplomatic outreach to America and Europe than Prime Minister Narendra Modi's lament in Croatia that terrorism continues to be "openly supported" and "rewarded" by "nations". The rather petulant hurt with which this accusation was addressed to the "developed" world indeed registers a moment of greatly disillusioning truth. Nor is the context around the statement too obscure to grasp. Imagine that the one country which India regards as the epicentre of terrorism, namely, Pakistan, should be having it so good even as Indian delegations have been making India's case to the West. Not only has Pakistan succeeded in garnering a bushel full of sustenance from the IMF and the World Bank – a turn of events unthinkable without the consent of the Americans especially – Pakistan was appointed vice chair of the United Nations Anti Terrorism Committee and chair of the Taliban sanctions committee as well. There is that old adage: the booty is best entrusted to the thief for safe-keeping; so Modi's consternation is truly more than understandable. What must have been unbearably galling is the chief of the terrorist-patrons, as India sees him, the military head of Pakistan, dining royally with the most powerful political head of the globe, i.e. the US president. This must have come as a coup d' grace to the Indian prime minister who is propagated everyday by satraps at home as the darling of the world's corridors of power – a rather pathetic iteration of which India's co-opted media never tires. Alas, those "Howdy Modi" memories accompanied by a public endorsement of Trump – " ab ki baar Trump sarkar" – must have hurt, as memories of a love gone sour inevitably do. But, perhaps the all-powerful Modi may consider this cruel truth: that realpolitik or Chanakya Neeti, as the Indian right wing proudly owns and practices both at home and abroad, is a game other countries can play too. Nor may India's chief concern – "terrorism" – be everybody's chief concern, or quite in the same way and measure as the Hindutva forces recommend. Recall that the Americans were the originals who first spawned the terrorists in Pakistan to nibble at the Soviet army in Afghanistan. Those we call "terrorists" have been both spawned and spurned by the West through the decades, here, there and elsewhere to suit their global requirements. If Pakistan was once seen as America's conduit to China (Richard Nixon), so it is again seen as crucially indispensable in any likely imbroglio that America may engage in vis-a-vis Iran which sits next door to Asim Munir's realm. Nor is Trump as averse to striking it friendly with Xi Jinping as we might think; as is now remarked, not ideology but transaction is the forte of the mercenary head of the United States. This raises some instructive posers for the Indian establishment: if America can strike deals with China, why not India? If America can look upon Putin as buddy number one, should India be abandoning its most trusted old ally, Russia, for silicon valley technologies and ruthless American proposals which seek to draft India against China while befriending that country itself, and for American private investments which seek to bleed the Indian market for Muskite wealth creation, no matter how India's own per capita income keeps falling, no matter how it sinks further and further in the Global Hunger Index? Then there is the beloved diaspora, alas no longer the blue-eyed boy of the Republicans in America. No exception is made for either Indian students or sundry fortune-hunters of Indian origin in America any more, as ruthless nativism sweeps across the "home of the brave and the land of the free." So what leverage does Modi's India have over Trump's America, barring the seduction of a market which the Muskites eye for exploitation? And why should Trump, who has embraced an erstwhile designated terrorist, now the leading man in Syria, lose any sleep over India's troubles in Kashmir¸ while Pakistan promises to aid and abet his concerns in more than one way? Yet, in the teeth of those discomforting realities, even Modi cannot pick up the courage to say publicly or in parliament that embracing the ceasefire on May 10 had nothing to do with Trumpean edict but was a gesture made by India of its own volition in the face of Pakistani entreaties. The point is, was it? And if it was, why the generosity towards a regime we consider our principal enemy? And do please say how it was Trump who first announced the ceasefire deal if he had nothing to do with the matter. And, if we did step back on our own, why cannot such politics be extended to seeking a modus vivendi with Pakistan, when even America manages to do so with nearly all nations with whom it has fought brutal wars? Can India be principled only in the matter of "terrorism" and tactical in everything else, or should "terrorism" of the sort that afflicts us now be seen as the expression of a political cul de sac which is best dealt with as such Finally, what may be most emphasised as emerging from all that is said above: There is potentially no more effective antidote to our "terrorism" conundrum than to return all political dues to Kashmiris in full trust and in uncompromised adherence to the secular injunctions of the Preamble of our Constitution. Politic breast-beating will never succeed. Badri Raina taught at Delhi University. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
India seeks pause in Kishanganga, Ratle dispute proceedings: Officials
India has formally requested a pause in proceedings related to disputes over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects, as it seeks to take control over its western river systems under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), officials on Tuesday said. The government has in a letter addressed to World Bank-appointed neutral expert Michel Lino called for suspension of the agreed work programme that outlines Pakistan's written submissions by August and joint discussions scheduled for November. India put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Access all TV channels anywhere, anytime Techno Mag Learn More Undo The World Bank has not yet issued a response.
