Indus Waters Treaty

The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan to use the water available in the Indus River system in the territories of the two countries. The treaty was negotiated by India and Pakistan with the mediation of World Bank, and signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 by Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani president Ayub Khan. It classifies six major rivers of the Indus Basin into two categories, and gives India control over the waters of the three "Eastern Rivers"—the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej—which have a total mean annual flow of 33 million acre⋅ft (41 billion m³), while control over the three "Western Rivers"—the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum—which have a total mean annual flow of 135 million acre⋅ft (167 billion m³), was given to Pakistan.

India received control of roughly 20% of the total water carried by the rivers, while Pakistan received 80%. The treaty allows India to use the water of Western Rivers for limited irrigation use and unlimited non-consumptive uses such as power generation, navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc. It lays down detailed regulations for India in building projects over the Western Rivers. The preamble of the treaty recognises the rights and obligations of each country for the optimum water use from the Indus system of rivers in a spirit of goodwill, friendship and cooperation. The treaty is also meant to alleviate Pakistani fears that India could potentially cause floods or droughts in Pakistan, especially during a potential conflict.

The Indus Waters Treaty is considered one of the most successful water sharing endeavors in the world today, even though analysts acknowledge the need to update certain technical specifications and expand the scope of the agreement to address climate change. On 23 April 2025, following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the Government of India suspended the treaty, citing national security concerns and alleging Pakistan's support of state-sponsored terrorism.

Provisions

The treaty classifies the six major rivers of the Indus river basin into two geographical categories: three western rivers – the Indus, the Jhelum and Chenab – and three eastern rivers – the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi. Per Article I of IWT, any river/ tributary and its catchment area of the Indus system of rivers that are not part of the other five rivers, is part of the Indus River including its creeks, delta channels, connecting lakes, etc. According to this treaty, the eastern rivers are allocated for exclusive water use by India after the expressly permitted water uses per Article II (1) in Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan has an exclusive water use of the western rivers after the permitted water uses in India. Article IV (14) of IWT states that any water use developed out of the underutilized waters of another country, will not acquire water use rights due to a lapse of time. Mostly, the treaty resulted in the partitioning of the rivers rather than sharing of their waters.

The treaty included a transition period of 10 years, during which India would supply water to the canals of Pakistan from its eastern rivers until Pakistan was able to build the canal system for utilization of waters from the western rivers. Per Article 5.1 of IWT, India also agreed to make a fixed contribution of UK Pound Sterling 62,060,000 (or 125 metric tons of gold when gold standard was followed) towards the cost of construction of new head-works and canal system for irrigation from western rivers in the Punjab province of Pakistan. This transitory period overlapped with the 1965 Indo-Pak war, during which India continued to supply water and pay annual installments per the agreements in the Treaty.

Both countries agreed in the treaty to exchange data and co-operate in the optimum use of water from the Indus system of rivers. For this purpose, the treaty creates the Permanent Indus Commission, with a commissioner appointed by each country. It would follow the set procedure for adjudicating any future differences and disputes arising over the implementation or interpretation or breach of the treaty. The commission has survived three wars and provides an ongoing mechanism for consultation and conflict resolution through inspection, exchange of data, and visits. The commission is required to meet at least once a year to discuss potential disputes as well as cooperative arrangements for the development of the Indus system of rivers. Per article VIII (8), both commissioners together shall submit an annual report to both countries on its works.

Either party must notify the other of plans to construct any engineering works which would affect the other party and provide data about such works. Salal dam was constructed after entering a mutual agreement by both countries. Tulbul Project is pending for clearance for decades even after protracted discussions between India and Pakistan. In cases of dispute or disagreement, Court of Arbitration (CoA) or a neutral technical expert respectively is called in for arbitration. Technical expert's ruling was followed for clearing the Baglihar power plant and CoA verdict was followed for clearing the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant. Pakistan is claiming violation of the treaty regarding 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Plant and asked for the establishment of a CoA whereas India asked for the appointment of a Neutral Expert. India has not yet raised any violation of Article II of IWT by Pakistan though Pakistan is using groundwater for various uses in the basin area of Ravi and Sutlej before these rivers finally cross in to Pakistan. Pakistan also constructed river training works in such a manner to reduce river flooding in its area and enhance flooding in Great Rann of Kutch area of India violating Article IV(3a). Pakistan raising disputes and approaching the CoA against Indian projects, could result in the abolition of the IWT when its provisions are interpreted in detail by the CoA verdicts.

Permanent Indus Commission

The Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) is a bilateral body comprising representatives from both India and Pakistan, established to oversee and ensure the implementation and management of the provisions set forth in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Its primary role is to facilitate cooperation and address issues concerning the use and allocation of the Indus River system between the two countries.

After prolonged talks between the governments of India and Pakistan, the IWT was signed in September 1960 with World Bank standing guarantee for any dispute resolution. Broadly, according to this treaty, waters of the three western rivers (the Jhelum, the Chenab, and the Indus itself) were allocated to Pakistan, and those of the three eastern rivers (the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej) were allocated to India. All these six rivers together called as Indus System of Rivers (ISR). PIC is the channel of correspondence between the two countries for the purpose of IWT and first step for conflict resolution. If an agreement cannot be reached at the PIC level, the dispute can be referred to a Neutral Expert for the differences already identified in the treaty or referred to the two governments for approaching the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). If the governments too fail to reach an agreement, the Treaty provides an arbitration mechanism. Presently, the role of the World Bank is limited as provided in Annexues F & G.

The Court of Arbitration has the authority to give a stay order, while the Neutral Expert does not have such powers. The Commissioner of Pakistan has its web page and some related documents are uploaded to disseminate information to the interested readers. Whereas Commissioner of India does not maintain a web site. However both Commissioners do not make the annual reports accessible online to public to keep the public depend on concocted / vested news.

Since the ratification of the treaty in 1960, India and Pakistan have not engaged in any water wars. Most differences and disputes have been settled via legal procedures, provided for within the framework of the treaty. The treaty is considered to be one of the most successful water sharing endeavors in the world despite two wars and many war like situations between the two countries.

Salal dam was constructed after entering mutual agreement by both countries. Tulbul Project is pending for clearance for decades even after protracted discussions between India and Pakistan. Neutral Expert's ruling was followed for clearing the Baglihar power plant and PCA verdict was followed for clearing the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant. Pakistan is claiming violation of the treaty regarding 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Plant. India has not yet raised any violation of IWT by Pakistan.

Background and history

The waters of the Indus system of rivers begin mainly in Tibet and the Himalayan mountains in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. They flow through the states of Punjab and Sindh before emptying into the Arabian Sea south of Karachi and Kori Creek in Gujarat. The average annual available water resource in Pakistan is 164.7 million acre⋅ft (203.1 billion m³). Where once there was only a narrow strip of irrigated land along these rivers, developments over the last century have created a large network of canals and storage facilities that provide water for more than 47 million acres (190,000 km²) in Pakistan alone by 2009, one of the largest irrigated areas of any river system.