Indus Waters Treaty Unlikely to be Unilaterally Scrapped by India

ISLAMABAD: It appears improbable that India will unilaterally revoke the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which was facilitated by the World Bank (WB), despite the current tensions between the two nations.

Sources familiar with the matter have dismissed as mere conjecture the unverified claims that New Delhi might unilaterally nullify the Indus Waters Treaty. These sources emphasized that neither Pakistan nor India possesses the authority to independently terminate the agreement, which was brokered by the World Bank.

The Indus Waters Treaty, an accord for water distribution between India and Pakistan, was structured and negotiated with the assistance of the WB to govern the utilization of water resources from the Indus River and its tributaries. The treaty was formalized in Karachi on September 19, 1960, with signatures from then-Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then-Pakistani President Field Marshal Ayub Khan.

The Treaty allocates control of the waters from the three “Eastern Rivers” – the Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej, all situated in India, with an average annual flow of 41 billion cubic meters (33 million acre-feet) – to India. Conversely, Pakistan retains control over the waters of the three “Western Rivers” – the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum, located in India, which have an average annual flow of 99 billion cubic meters.

Approximately 30% of the total water volume carried by the Indus Rivers System within India is allocated to India, while the remaining 70% is designated for Pakistan.