Officials of India and Pakistan will hold technical deliberations on various issues of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on March 29-30 in New Delhi. The talks will take place under the established mechanism of Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) set up under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 between India and Pakistan.
The IWT mandates the PIC to establish and maintain cooperative arrangements for implementation of the treaty and to promote cooperation between the two sides in the development of Indus water systems. Each commissioner is the representative of his government for all matters arising out of this treaty.
The treaty also mandates the PIC to meet at least once a year alternately in India and Pakistan. The 113th meeting of PIC was held in Pakistan on March 20-21 last year. The meeting will take place in the backdrop of the continuing tension between the two countries over several issues, including the alleged harassment of diplomats. India’s Indus Water Commissioner PK Saxena, technical experts and a representative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will be part of the Indian delegation for the annual meeting. Pakistan’s six-member delegation will be led by Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah. Interestingly, on March 25, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari made a statement saying the government would stop the Indian share of water flowing to Pakistan through rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. “The issue of three rivers, whose water was given to Pakistan, is a separate issue but the water of our three rivers, whose water is necessary for our development, is also going to Pakistan. And the Indian Government has decided to stop water (of our share) of three rivers and will provide it to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to solve the problem of water,” Gadkari said.