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INDIA-PAKISTAN PERMANENT INDUS COMMISSION

UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS | 118TH MEETING OF THE INDIA-PAKISTAN PERMANENT INDUS COMMISSION CONCLUDES | 06TH JUNE

/ June, 2022, UPSC Daily Current Affairs

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS II (Bilateral Relations)

WHY IN THE NEWS?

  • Recently, India and Pakistan concluded the 118th meeting of the India-Pakistan Permanent Indus Commission, with the delegates from both nations signing PIC’s annual report for the year ending March 31, 2022.
  • The last meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) is held earlier in March 2022.

KEY DETAILS OF THE MEETING:

  • The Indian and Pakistani delegations mutually agreed to hold the next meeting of PIC in Pakistan on mutually convenient dates.
  • As per the provision of the said Treaty, Indus Water Commissioners from both countries respectively.
  • They requires to meet at least once every year, alternatively in India and Pakistan.

 

INDUS WATER TREATY:

  • It is the 62nd year, and the Indus Water Treaty was officially sign on September 19, 1960.
  • By the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan.
  • It was an attempt to delimit the use of waters, particularly of the Indus River System following the India-Pakistan partition.
  • The negotiation for the agreement went on for nine years before coming to terms in 1960.
  • IWT does not have a unilateral exit provision.
  • And is suppose to remain in force unless both countries ratify another mutually agreed pact.
BACKGROUND OF THE INDUS WATER TREATY:
  • Originating from Tibet, the Indus River Basin comprises six rivers, namely the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.
  • This mainly flows through India and Pakistan with a small share of China and Afghanistan.
  • During the partition, the line drawn across the boundaries neglected the water realities and led to increasingly frequent tensions.
  • The Inter-Dominion Accord put in place to tackle the water sharing issue but had largely fail to manage the goal.
  • Under the Inter-Dominion accord of May 4, 1948, New Delhi would release enough water to Islamabad in return for annual payments.
  • In 1960, under the World Bank’s assistance, the two countries signed the Indus Water Treaty.
  • It laid out the details of the allocation of water.
  • Under the treaty, the Eastern rivers (namely Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas) were allocate to India for exclusive use.
  • And the waters of the Western Rivers (namely the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) were allocated to Pakistan.
  • The treaty authorized India to use the waters of Western rivers for Domestic use, non-consumptive use, Agricultural Use as set out in Annexure C, and Generation of hydroelectric power as set out in Annexure D.

India is also permitt to construct storage of water on Western Rivers up to 3.6 million acre-feet (MAF) for various purposes as specify in Annexure E.