Indus Waters Treaty needs complete renegotiation, says government; blames Pakistan for stonewalling talks

New Delhi: The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) cannot function in its present form and the existing water-sharing arrangements will have to be renegotiated, government sources said on Monday. They added that no credible steps have been taken by Pakistan on terrorism, nor has it responded to New Delhi's notice on renegotiation of the treaty for India to consider reviewing its decision on IWT abeyance.

Further, sources said Pakistan's strident stance on the treaty and its allegations that India is starving it of water are baseless and inconsistent with the facts on the ground. Pakistan, they said, has failed to fully utilise its share of the waters or create adequate national and inter-provincial water storage infrastructure over the decades.

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In fact, publicly available Pakistani data shows that half of its water share either flows into the sea or is wasted because of poor water management, sources said. Of the 135 million acre-feet (MAF) allocated to Pakistan, it is able to divert only about 104 MAF to its fields. As much as 35 MAF (more than India's 33 MAF share) drains into the Arabian Sea, according to Pakistan's data. Even last year, during the Kharif season, over 30 MAF was lost to the seas, while another 3 MAF was lost to surface runoff during the lean season, sources said. This, sources pointed out, shows the hollowness of Pakistan's arguments blaming India for its water shortage, when it is India that has been shortchanged in terms of water allocation.

Meanwhile, as the Hague-based Court of Arbitration (CoA) continues to pronounce "awards" on the IWT, government sources underlined that India does not recognise the "illegally constituted" CoA or its awards and orders. They also made it clear that India paused the Neutral Expert proceedings following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The IWT provides for a graded system of arbitration for any differences, beginning with discussions between the Indus Commissioners of both countries, followed by government-to-government engagement. Only thereafter they proceed first to a Neutral Expert and, if unresolved, to the CoA.

By approaching the CoA directly in the last two cases and simultaneously pursuing CoA and Neutral Expert proceedings in the ongoing case, Pakistan has made a "mockery" of the framework under the treaty, sources said. This is unacceptable to India and, accordingly, it is not participating in the CoA proceedings and does not consider itself bound by any of its recent or future orders, sources held.

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While India participated in the Neutral Expert proceedings until the Pahalgam attack, it decided to pause its participation after placing the treaty in abeyance.

The sources also underlined that Pakistan has used the IWT with the "perverse intention" of preventing India from exercising its rightful share of the waters, objecting even to the smallest projects, beginning with the Tulbul Project within two years of the treaty being signed.

India has, in fact, been seeking to renegotiate the IWT since 2023, due to significant changes in hydropower technology, climate change and demographic realities, but Pakistan has repeatedly stonewalled the proposal, sources said.