Background of the Indus Water Treaty

Since the beginning of the civilization, Water of the Indus River system—one of the largest river system
in the world—has been used for the purpose of irrigation in the Indus Basin. At that time, water demands
were less than the availability of water in the river due to small population. As the water demands raised,
water disputes initiated among the two countries at different water sectors in the basin.

During British rule in the mid of the 19th century, water disputes were mostly between lower (Sindh) and
upper (Punjab) riparian. Sindh was afraid that Punjab would encroach upon water shares of Sindh and
establish water rights over Indus river water.

After creation of Pakistan, these domestic disputes changed into international disputes between Indian
and Pakistan because during the partition of Punjab, Radcliffe drew the partition line across the Punjab
province giving most of the rich water reaches of Indus Basin Rivers to India(Siddiqui 2010).

Less than a year after the partition of the subcontinent, In April 1948, India stopped the water supply of
Dipalpur Canal originating from Ferozepurheadworks, built in 1920 on Sutlej River. India further stopped
irrigation in every irrigation canal crossing India-Pakistan boundary. Due to this unethical attitude of
India, 1.6 million acres of irrigated land of Pakistan was affected. Pakistan criticized this act and sent its
delegation to New Delhi for resumption of water supply. On 4thMay 1948, the Inter-Dominion Agreement
was signed between India and Pakistan. According to this agreement, India continued water supply for
irrigation purposes until Pakistan managed to develop alternative water resources.

Sometime after this, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian Prime Minister, invited an American expert, David
Lilenthal, to review the situation. However, his observations, which supported Pakistan’s arguments,
failed to earn respect from Delhi. From 1952 to 1960, the World Bank sponsored several rounds of talks
in Washington, and finally the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan was signed in 1960.
According to the Indus Water Treaty, India is not allowed to build dams for the purpose of water storage
on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers. However, India is permitted to make limited use of their water,
including developing run of the river hydroelectric power projects (Sridhar, 2008). Apart from these
observations, India continues to use the waters of Indus and Jhelum, which remains as an issue between
the two countries.

Indus Water Treaty

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing treaty between Pakistan and India, brokered by the World
Bank and then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The treaty was signed in
Karachi on September 19, 1960 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan
Mohammad Ayub Khan. The treaty was a result of Pakistani fear that since the Source Rivers of the Indus
basin were in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan.
The Treaty describes trans-boundary water rights and obligations of Pakistan and India in relation to each
other. Under this Treaty, Pakistan was assigned the rights of full use of water of the Jhelum, Chenab, and
Indus Rivers, with minor exception, for existing uses of water in Kashmir. This Treaty allocated about
75% of the water of the Indus system to Pakistan and allowed India, under judiciously specified
conditions, to tap the considerable hydropower potential of the three Western rivers before they entered
into Pakistan(Nosheen and Begum 2013).

Main Constituents for Indus Water Treaty

The Indus Water Treaty was signed at Karachi on September 19, 1960. It consists of 12 articles and 8
appendices, which are explained in detail in Annexure No 1

Principles of Water Sharing

The following two are the main principles of water sharing between India and Pakistan:

 “All the waters of the Eastern Rivers shall be available for the unrestricted use of India. Pakistan
was permitted by way of exception to take water for domestic use, non-consumptive use and
certain limited agricultural use”.
 “Pakistan shall receive unrestricted use of all water of Western Rivers which India is under
obligation to follow and shall not permit any interference with these waters except for the
domestic, non-consumptive, agriculture, generation of hydroelectric power and storage
works”(Akhtar 2010).

Principles of Cooperation
 The Treaty provides exchange of the following data on daily basis to ensure optimum development of
the rivers as well as cooperation and collaboration between the two countries. These data have to be
shared by both parties on monthly basis. (Akhtar, 2010)
 Discharge relating to flow of the rivers at all observation sites.
 Releases (withdrawals) from reservoirs.
 Extractions at the heads of all canals, including link canals.
 Escapades from all canals, including link canals.
 Deliveries from link canals.

Merits of the Treaty

The following were the major advantages of this treaty:

 Both countries started to improve the water supplies of rivers of their own shares.
 The Indus basin system became more reliable under seasonal variations.
 This treaty gave opportunity to both countries for better use of water.
 The tension between the two countries was reduced due to this treaty.
 A permanent Indus Commission was established to settle any dispute in future.

Demerits of the Treaty

The followings were some disadvantages of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT):

 From Pakistan point of view, only 75% allocation of water as against 90% of irrigated land
violated the principle of “appreciable harm”.
 From India’s perspective, 75% allocation of water to Pakistan violated the principle of “equitable
utilization”.
  Pakistan had to sacrifice the entire continuous flow of fresh waters of eastern rivers (24 MAF),
which was used for irrigation.
 Due to loss of regular flow in eastern rivers, silting has occurred in the channels and subsequent
floods cause greater destruction in Pakistan, in addition to other environmental effects.
 The traditional flood irrigation, the most ancient way of using rivers waters, on Sutlaj,
Bias and to some extent on Ravi disappeared. As a result, no cultivation was possible in the
flood plains of these rivers, thus rendering a large extent of area barren.
 Storages are not substitutes of perpetual flow water as the storages have limited life. Pakistan is
already feeling the effect of silting up of its major reservoirs (Nosheen & Begum, 2013.
Changes in River Flows

The average annual flow-rates of major rivers has been calculated between 1922-61 to indicate water
flows before the Indus Water Treaty, 1985-1995 to indicate the post-treaty flows and the 2001-02 flows to
present the current situation of drought conditions (Table 3.1).
Table 3.1 Changes in River Flow During Different s
River Average Annual Average Annual Average Annual
Flow Flow Flow
(1922-61) (1985-95) (2001-02)
MAF MAF MAF
Indus 93.0 60.25 48.0
Jhelum 23.0 23.0 11.85
Chenab 26.0 25.7 12.38
Ravi 7.0 5.8 1.47
Sutlej 14.0 5.8 0.02
Kabul 26.0 22.3 18.9
Total 189.0 142.8 92.62
Source: http://ipripak.org/factfiles/ff45.shtml

Post-Treaty Views

From Pakistan’s point of view, the settlement plan in Indus Waters Treaty had some advantages as well as
certain defects.
Advantages of the settlement plan:
(i) Each country became independent of the other in the operation of its supplies after the
completion of the Indus Basin Replacement Plan (IBRP) works.
(ii) Each country is responsible for planning, constructing and administering its own facilities in
its own interests (Nazir Ahmad, 1993; Govt. of Pakistan, 1960).
(iii) Each country has the opportunity to use the water effectively. Increase in efficiency for
storage, transfer and reduction of losses benefits directly to that country.
 (iv) The independence afforded by the program has reduced the chances of disputes and tension.
(v) Before the Indus Water Treaty, 80% of the total water was produced during the moon soon
period. Storage projects due to the treaty increased or regulatedthe canal water diversions.
(vi) Besides total withdrawals, canal water diversions in Pakistan have increased from about 67
MAF to 104.5 MAF (Nazir Ahmad, 1993; Govt. of Pakistan, 1960).
Defects of the settlement plan:
(i) The traditional floods would decrease or disappear and the sailab areas would not get
seasonal water causing soil salinity and sodicity problems.
(ii) The channels have become silt up due to loss of regular flow in the Eastern Rivers.
(iii) The development of new link canals and storages causes a very heavy additional burden on
the cost of maintaining irrigation (Nazir Ahmad, 1993; Govt. of Pakistan, 1960).

Discussion and Post-treaty Works in Pakistan

Under the provisions of Article VIII (1) of the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 both India and Pakistan have
appointed a Commissioner for Indus Waters. The commissioner will discuss the points of view of both
Governments.
The two Commissioners together form the Permanent Indus Commission whose purpose and functions
are (i) to establish and maintain cooperative arrangements for the implementation of the Treaty, (ii) to
promote cooperation between the Parties in the development of the waters of the 'Rivers', (iii) to make
every effort to settle promptly any question arising between the Parties and (iv) to undertake tours of
inspection of the Rivers to ascertain facts.
Provision of Indian Dams on Pak Rivers in Treaty
Indian Dams on Pakistani Rivers and violation of Treaty

River Scale Water Issues

The Indus Water Treaty was followed by Pakistan and India for almost two decades (1960s-1970s). After
that, India started creating problems for Pakistan on the water sector. Since signing of the treaty, India has
violated it many times. Pakistan has been accommodating these for quite some time. Pakistan protested
and even asked for the intervention from the World Bank, but no useful results could be attained. Here
are some major Indian projects such as Salal Hydro Power Project, Wullar Barrage, Baglihar
hydroelectric project, Kishanganga, DulHasti, Uri II, and NimooBazgo and Bursa Dam, which have
become controversial (Nosheen and Begum 2013).

Salal Hydroelectric Project

This project is located on the Chenab River in occupied Kashmir. This was the first Indian project that
created recent conflicts between Pakistan and India at river scale. In 1974, India provided information
about the project, Pakistan made objections to the design and storage capacity of the dam. In 1976,
both countries started talks to resolve the issue. Pakistan resisted that by building this dam, India would
interrupt the flow of the water and would cause flooding to the western Punjab. Finally, India provided
details of the project and showed flexibility to alter the design of the dam to remove objections of
Pakistan. In 1978, both countries signed a treaty on the Salal project. So, this was the first major conflict
successfully resolved bilaterally under this treaty (Siddiqui 2010).

Wullar Barrage Project

The Wullar Barrage also called as Tulbul Navigation project was the second Indian project that became
controversial and is still not resolved. This is located on the Jhelum River in occupied Kashmir. The
barrage is designed to be constructed at the mouth of Wullar Lake, the largest fresh water lake in
occupied Kashmir. Any information on the project was not provide in time and construction was started
in 1984. Pakistan knew about the project in 1985, upraised objections, and requested to stop work on
it(Akhtar 2010). Consequently, the matter was taken up by the Indus Commission and several meetings
were held to resolve this matter. However, the Commission could not resolve the issue and the
construction work, which continued upto September 1987, was finally suspended. On Indian appeal,
mutual negotiation started at the secretary level. Up to2008, about thirteen rounds of meetings had been
held but no result could be found so far. To date, although the work at the site remains suspended,
India still had intention to resume it(Siddiqui 2010).

Baglihar Hydroelectric Project

This was the third controversial project and the first one that went to neutral expert for solution because
of some technical questions raised by Pakistan. This project was initiated in October 2008. It is located
on the Chenab River in district Doda. The project has two stages and both are of 450MW capacity.
Pakistan raised six objections to the design of the dam and argued that the project was not in conformity
with the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistani experts also feared that India could also weaken Pakistan’s
defense by stopping the Chenab flow through the project’s spill- ways as two canals emanate from Head
Marala, Sialkot, which irrigate central Punjab. (Akhtar 2010).

In March 2009, Pakistani Minister for water and power informed the Parliament that Pakistan has
demanded of India either to compensate for the losses or provide water equal to 0.2 million acre
feet. Pakistan took up this case with India and Indus Water Commissioner. Pakistan made an urgent
visit to India in this connection, India accepted the Pakistani claim of drop in Chenab flow
during August and September. The two meetings were held by Indus Water Commissioner,
Pakistan with its counterpart in India, but the meetings remained inconclusive. India as usual stuck
to its traditional obduracy and inflexibility which is causing lossto Pakistan. Pakistan however,
determined that India must accept the violation by it and address it in future(Siddiqui 2010).

Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project

After Baglihar, India and Pakistan faced another dispute over the configuration of Kishanganga
hydroelectric project and the matter went to the Court of Arbitration for settlement. The 300-MW,
Kishanganga hydroelectric project is located about 160km upstream of Muzaffarabad. Pakistan first
received reports about Indian intentions to develop the Kishanganga project in 1988 but India officially
confirmed it in June 1994 when it provided information regarding the storage work. Pakistan raised some
objections to the project. The fundamental objection to Kishanganga was diversion of Neelum River
water through a 21 km long tunnel towards the Wullar Lake to generate 330 MW power, which was
against the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). This was not only a serious threat to Neelum-
Jhelum Hydrolectrical Project (969 MW) but would also reduce the water supply for agriculture in the
areas of Azad Kashmir. It is estimated that about 27% of Neelum water will be reduced due to this
diversion of water towards Wullar Lake. Pakistan also raised objections relating to certain design
features, especially the draw-down technology to flush sediments.

In May 2004, due to objection by Pakistan on the construction of Kishanganga hydroelectric project,
India assured to freeze all work at the site for six months and hold a meeting with Pakistan for
removing its objections. India informed that it was working on the foundation of the dam and the
powerhouse. Pakistan protested and said that construction work should not have begun before removing
its objections. The issue was discussed in five meetings of the Commission held from November 2004 to
November 2005 but differences over the project remained the same. Furthermore, India did not supply the
data regarding the project.

In May 2005, Pakistan raised up six objections: three were related to design of the dam, two on the
diversion of water and one related to the power generation scheme. Pakistan also accepted an Indian
proposal to set 15 July as deadline for resolving the Kishangana project issue. As reported in the
international press, Indian cabinet approved to go ahead with 330 MW Kishanganga project in Indian
held Kashmir. It intends to complete the project by the year 2016, one year ahead of Pakistan project of
diversion of Neelum River to Jhelum River. The Indian project would divert the River Neelum to Wullar
Lake upstream of the Pakistan project and would leave very little water for Pakistan’s project, so
Pakistan went to the court of Arbitration for resolution of the issue(Siddiqui 2010).

Recently, in 2013, “the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) has allowed India to construct the dam
and also allowed them to divert the water towards Wular Lake” said by Pakistan’s Indus Water
Commissioner, Mirza Asif Baig, summarizing the court’s decision. However, the court ruled that the
minimum flow of water in the Kishanganga-Neelum River will not be less than 9 m 3/s at all times, so that
it can mitigate adverse effects on Pakistan’s environment and hydroelectric projects. The remaining water
can be used by India for producing hydroelectricity(Bhutta and Haq 2013).

DulHasti Hydroelectric Plant

The two-stage DulHasti hydropower project with an installed capacity of 390 MW is located on
the main Chenab in district Doda. Pakistan believed that it was not just a hydroelectric station but a
full-fledged dam aimed at storing water for irrigation needs as seen in the case of Baglihar dam.
This project was initiated in 1983 at a cost of Rs 34 billion. This project envisages the construction of
180.5 m long and 59.5 high concrete gravity dam upstream of Baglihar hydroelectric project on
river Chenab. The construction of this dam was started in 1991. Compared to Salal and Baglihar
Projects, the effect of this project on Pakistan was probably too grave since the stoppage of water could
be of the order of 1-2 days only. However, it was important to discourage India from providing under-
sluices type gated spillways in the body of the dam(Ahmad 2012).

Uri-II Hydel Power Project

This hydel power project is located on the Jhelum in Baramulla district of Indian occupied
Kashmir. The project was planned at downstream of Uri-I and pick up its tail water to make use of the
gross head of about 130 m available in the course of the river between Uri-I tailrace outlet. In
October 2002, Pakistan asked India to supply information about Uri-II project. In July 2004, Pakistan
again asked India to provide the said information, in March 2005, Pakistan repeated the request and
India finally provided some information about the plant. In April 2006, Pakistan sent its observations to
India. India did not inform Pakistan and started construction unilaterally on the project, in June 2007,
India rejected Pakistan’s demand for stopping work on the Uri-II project while Pakistan threatened to
seek World Bank intervention if India did not stop construction work India remained insistent and did not
stop work. Some adjustments had been made on Uri-II(Akhtar 2010; Sharma 2007). However, the project
has been completed, recently, on 1st March 2014, generating a power of 240 MW(Kashmir-Reader 2014).

NimooBazgo Hydro Project

NimooBazgoHydel project with 45 MW capacity is a run of the river scheme. It is located on the main
Indus in Ladakh district. The construction work of dam is in full swing. On March 29, 2010 in a meeting
of the Indus Commissioners, India handed over construction plans and maps of the project to Pakistan.
Pakistan expressed reservations on this project showed its fear that the Indian projects might obstruct
smooth supply of water to Pakistan. At the July 2010 meeting of the Indus Commissioners, India
expressed its incapability to discuss construction of NimoBazgo hydropower project saying it was not
part of the ongoing negotiations. Pakistan was not allowed to visit site of this project(Akhtar 2010;
Nosheen and Begum 2013).

Pakistani delegation visited the Nimoo-Bazgo project in October 2011 and raised five objections, which
were mainly related to the depth of the dam and the height of spillways. However, these objections were
rejected by India authorities(Mustafa 2012).

“There are two aspects to the Nimoo-Bazgar project: one that India is guilty of violating the treaty; and
secondly, India is violating Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) rules and regulations under the rules
and modalities of the Marrakesh Accords, article 37 B and C, which talk about stakeholder consultation
regarding impacts of the project,” said ShafqatKakakhel, former United Nations Environment
Programme official and member of the international CDM board(Parvaiz 2012).

The Nimoo-Bazgo hydroelectric project was commissioned in December 2012 and is now in operational
form, from where the cheaper supply of electricity is being ensured to the Indian troops in Siachen(HCC
2013; Khalid 2012).

Bursar Dam
This dam is considered as the biggest project build by India on two major rivers Jhelum and Chenab
flowing through the state of Indian occupied Kashmir and then into Pakistan. The construction work
was started in 1996 and is expected to complete in 2016.

This dam is being constructed on the Marusudar River near Hanzal village in Doda District, which is the
tributary of the Chenab River. According to the sources, it has a storage capacity of 2.2MAF and can
generate 1020 MW of electricity. The construction work of this dam is considered as a serious violation
of the Indus Water treaty, due to its high storage capacity, which is much beyond permissible limits. The
planed height of this dam is about 829 ft, while Tarbela dam is only 485ft high, Mangla dam is 453 ft
high. Actually this dam will be a storage facility, which will regulate the flow of water to all downstream
projects like DulHasti project, Baglihar dam and Salal dam.

This proposed dam violates the Indus Water Treaty as well as international environmental
convention. It will cause water scarcity in Pakistan, and it would also contribute towards melting
of Himalayan glaciers. More than 4900 acres of thick forest would be submerged and the whole
population of Hanzal village would be displaced. According to some experts, the project is located in
Kishtwar High Altitude National Park (about 2 million-acre feet) which is an environmentally
protected area. Spreading over an area of 400 km, the park contains 15 mammals’ species
including the musk dear and Himalayan black and brown bear and some rear birds for which an
environmental impact assessment study is necessary.Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters has
repeatedly asked his Indian counterpart to provide details of the proposed water storage and hydropower
projects, including Bursar dam, but India has taken the stand that it was aware of its legal obligations
and it would inform Pakistan about the project details and relevant data six months before construction
activities as required under the Treaty (Ahmad 2012).

Indian Future Plan

“In Pakistan,there is increasing fear of water and food insecurity, a country that is entirely dependent on
the waters of the Indus river system . India has plans to construct 155 hydropower projects on the Indus,
Jhelum and Chenab, the three rivers that were assigned to Pakistan under the IWT. This number has
however, not been confirmed by the Indian authorities.

“The Permanent Indus Commission (PIWC), which provides an on-going mechanism for consultation and
conflict resolution through inspection, exchange of data, and visits between the two countries has
compiled a list of 155 hydropower projects dams, India plants to construct in violation of the Indus
Waters Treaty of 1960”(Bhutta 2011)