{"id":63149,"date":"2025-09-12T13:07:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T07:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=63149"},"modified":"2025-09-12T13:07:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T07:37:17","slug":"india-pak-ties-and-the-indus-waters-treaty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/india-pak-ties-and-the-indus-waters-treaty\/","title":{"rendered":"India-Pak Ties and the Indus Waters Treaty: History, Insecurity, and the Road Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Indus Waters Treaty Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India, after calling for a review and renegotiation of the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/indus-water-treaty\/\" target=\"_blank\">Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, suspended the 65-year-old agreement following the April Pahalgam terror attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Water sharing is now poised to become as contentious as terrorism and Kashmir in bilateral ties. Much debate on the issue has been emotional rather than fact-based.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Divergent Perspectives on the Indus Waters Treaty<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) gave Pakistan 80% of the Indus system\u2019s waters, a decision that has sparked criticism in India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per some experts, this allocation was not based on volume but on geography, terrain, and natural flow.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For India, the then PM Nehru saw the Treaty as a magnanimous step toward peaceful coexistence, even calling it a \u201cpurchased peace.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, critics, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, view it as appeasement.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pakistan, meanwhile, recognized the leverage of an upper riparian state but has never celebrated the 80:20 distribution.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its leaders avoided claiming victory, knowing it could weaken their narrative of victimhood.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over time, both nations have remained dissatisfied with the Treaty, albeit for different reasons.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Pakistan\u2019s Insecurity Over Indus Waters<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) gave India rights over the eastern rivers and limited use of the western rivers, Pakistan has consistently used the Treaty\u2019s dispute mechanisms to delay Indian projects in J&amp;K.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This reflects not a need for more water, but Pakistan\u2019s deep insecurity about India\u2019s control over river flows.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its fear is that India could disrupt these flows, on which Pakistan is heavily dependent.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experts argue that this insecurity ties directly to Pakistan\u2019s Kashmir agenda, where control of rivers is central.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indeed, soon after the Treaty\u2019s signing, General Ayub Khan openly linked Kashmir\u2019s annexation to Pakistan\u2019s water security concerns.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why the Indus Waters Treaty Endured<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has withstood <\/span><b>four wars, terrorism, and decades of hostility,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> often hailed as a model of cross-border water governance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its survival is credited largely to India, which, as the upper riparian, bears the main responsibility \u2014 ensuring minimum flows and sharing timely data with Pakistan.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This upstream role directly impacts Pakistan, while Pakistan\u2019s actions have no effect upstream.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analysts note that had Pakistan been the upper riparian, the Treaty might not have endured.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even as the lower riparian, Pakistan has exploited Treaty provisions to stall India\u2019s legitimate projects in J&amp;K.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Future of the Indus Waters Treaty<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pakistan recognises it already enjoys the most favourable terms under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and will resist any renegotiation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fearing bilateral renegotiation with India, Pakistani experts suggest involving China and Afghanistan in the Indus Waters Treaty talks.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About 8% of the Indus basin is in China and 6% in Afghanistan.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India, however, insists that revisions must remain bilateral, excluding third parties like the World Bank.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Freed from strict adherence to Treaty provisions, India now prioritises completing water projects in J&amp;K, aiming to fully utilise its rights over western rivers without disrupting flows.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While India may still share some flow and weather data, the <\/span><b>suspension of Permanent Indus Commissioner meetings reduces structured exchanges<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By leveraging its upper riparian advantage, India signals it is ready to pressure Pakistan into rethinking its stance on cross-border terrorism and water disputes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/india-pak-ties-prism-indus-treaty-insights-new-book-10244743\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explore India-Pakistan relations through the Indus Waters Treaty. Learn about divergent views, Pakistan\u2019s insecurities, why the Treaty endured, and what the future holds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":52228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1106,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-63149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-indus-waters-treaty","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}