Islamabad:
The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, has said that the Treaty of the Water of the Indo (IWT) between Pakistan and India does not allow unilateral suspension, which emphasizes that the agreement can only be modified or suspended with mutual consent.
His comments are produced following the declaration of India to end unilaterally and illegally the treaty after the False Flag operation in Pahalgam last month, a broadly criticized movement in Pakistan and seen as a violation of international obligations.
“There is no disposition in the treaty to allow the suspension of the way it was prepared. Or it needs to be disappeared or replaced by another, and that requires that the two countries want to agree,” he said, speaking with CNBC-TV18.
However, he pointed out that although the bank does not arbitrate or enforces the provisions, it helps to initiate procedures when the mechanisms for resolving treaty disputes are triggered.
In case of disagreement, the bank facilitates the appointment of a neutral expert or an arbitration court, without taking a position itself.
Banga declared that the World Bank works exclusively as a facilitator in the context of the treaty, which was negotiated by the bank in 1960 to regulate the exchange of water between India and Pakistan.
“We have to pay the rates of those types through a trustee that was established in the bank at the time of creating the treaty. That is our role. We do not have a role to play beyond that,” he said.
The Water Treaty of the Indo assigns the control of the rivers between the two nations and requires that any change in the agreement requires mutual consent.
“It is his decision,” he said and confirmed that the bank had not received any formal communication from India or Pakistan with respect to recent developments.
Following high tensions after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India moved to unilaterally suspend the key aspects of the treaty.
These actions include active water flow to Pakistan, particularly through the Chenab River.
India has also stopped the mandatory exchange of hydrological data under the treaty and is considering extending its controversial rinse operations to the Kishanganga hydroelectric project in the Jhelum River.
For the answer
Meanwhile, Pakistan has responded to the letters of India on the Treaty of the Water of the Indo, reiterating that the treaty is a binding international agreement that remains completely in force and cannot be suspended or raped, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Fo spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said that Pakistan has made India clear that any violation of the treaty would be unacceptable. “The Water Treaty of the Indo is an international obligation that must be confirmed,” he added.
The spokesman also emphasized that the treaty does not allow the suspension under any circumstances. “There is no disposition within the Treaty of the Indo’s waters so that it is suspended unilaterally. It is completely in force and must be implemented in letters and spirit,” Khan reiterated.
The FO maintained that Pakistan will continue to increase his voice in each relevant forum to safeguard his rights under the treaty.
