Indus Waters Treaty-A key factor between Indo-Pak ties

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The cowardly terrorist attack by Pakistan on Indian armed forces in uri has enraged the whole nation.There are voices rising all across the country to teach Pakistan a strict lesson.This has brought into the limelight, the Indus waters treaty.There is a strong demand to scrap the treaty to put pressure on Pakistan.The government of India has stated that mutual trust and cooperation is necessary for such a treaty to survive.Pakistan, on the other hand, never cooperates with India on terrorism thus making it akmost impossible to trust them.It has been their habit to backstab India with terror strikes.If India decides to scrap this treaty which benefits Pakistan more than India, Pakistan will lose out on its major source of water and its economy will reach a new low.This treaty is very important for Pakistan and one of the reasons it wants to control Kashmir.Pakistan’s agricultural economy mainly depends on the rivers that flow through Kashmir.It seems a perfect way to warn Pakistan and put pressure on them.However, experts say that it is not that simple to discard an International treaty.It will have adverse effects on India too.

What is Indus Waters Treaty?

The Indus Waters Treaty is a treaty between India and Pakistan for the distribution of water.It administers the utilization of water of river Indus and its tributaries which flow through both countries.The former Prime Minister of India, Mr. Jawahar Lal Nehru and former President of Pakistan, Mr. Ayub Khan signed it on September 19, 1960.The World Bank brokered this treaty.This treaty gives the control over three Eastern rivers ( the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej) to India.Pakistan controls the three Western rivers ( the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum).The source of most rivers is in India which created fear of droughts and famines in Pakistan.Pakistan feared that India could use this fact as an advantage at the times of war.This treaty is the result of that fear.The aim of Indus Waters Treaty was to promote cooperation among both nations but it favours Pakistan more.India can use the water for irrigation and other purposes but only to a limited extent.India gets to use only 20% of the water and Pakistan enjoys 80% of it.This treaty has survived three wars and everlasting political tension between the two countries.For this reason, people call it one of the most successful treaties of the world.

The Permanent Indus Commission was set to discuss and settle the disputes which could arise in the future over the distribution of water.The commission meets regularly to address various issues regarding the matter.They also look for new ideas for the development of the basin.Officials from either country must tell each other about any engineering projects they want to accomplish on the basin.They must also provide the data work.If there is a disagreement then the commission calls for a neutral expert.

But Pakistan’s actions are forcing India to have a second thought about the treaty.Many people are saying that its time to scrap it but it is a lot more complicated than it seems.Let us take a look why it is so.

Problems India could face by scrapping the treaty

Though there are a  lot of talks about India abrogating the Indus Waters Treaty, it seems unlikely.The treaty has survived 3 wars between the nations.India never breached it during those time so there are not many chances of this happening it now.If still Indian government decides to undo the Indus waters Treaty then it might have an adverse effect on us too.

According to the experts, scrapping the treaty may compound India’s problems instead of solving them.This idea is legally inappropriate and it will require huge investments.It is never logical to take one-sided action on an International agreement.Such a step may cause Pakistan to increase it’s terror attacks on India as it will try to destabilize Indian water resources.In 2008 Pakistan claimed that India cut down the water supply to Pak by 2,000 cubic feet per second.This lead to the rise in the influence of Lashkar during that time.

It would also damage India’s image in the International scenario.If India decides to deprive Pakistan of water then the world may look down upon us.India’s good image is hard earned.It will give Pakistan a free agenda to defame India.It has been always blaming India to hamper its progress and such action will only justify its claims.Pakistan will see it as a golden chance to create an anti-India wave among other nations.It will also create uncertainty among our neighbouring nations like Bangladesh and Nepal.Also, India will find it hard to gather International support against terrorism.China is the biggest supporter of Pakistan.If India stops giving water to Pak then China could also block Brahmaputra’s water flow to India.India has not treaty with China regarding this matter.

Pakistan can drag India to the International Court of Justice regarding the matter.It is a strong possibility that it might even win the case.This will do India no good.

Moreover, if India stops the flow of water to Pakistan it may cause floods in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.To stop the water we will need large dams which will take a lot of time and money.India simply cannot force the water out of Kashmir due to geographical reasons.The DNA reports state that there is no way to connect the rivers under Pak’s control to other rivers due to the presence of Pir Panjal mountains.India is able to stop water supply for some time but can’t divert it permanently.

Pakistan has their own internal problems.But scrapping the treaty could give Pakistani jihadists a reason to unite and fight against India.This will lead to more terrorism against India.

What India could do?

Instead of discarding the Indus Waters Treaty, India can modify it according to her convenience.We can reset the formula of distribution of water.The treaty was made way back in 1960.Since then India’s population and demands have increased rapidly.Pakistan’s actions during this period have caused only troubles for India which is not ideal to sustain a treaty.India can revise the treaty in such a way that it gets most of the water.We can gradually cut off the water.For every attack on Indian soil from across the border, we can cut off 20-30 percent of water supply to Pakistan.This will put pressure on Pakistan to stop giving shelter to terrorism and would also do no harm to India’s image.

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