India, Pakistan discuss Indus Waters Treaty dispute in Islamabad

Pakistan’s minister for water and power, Khawaja Asif, welcomed the Indian delegation for the two-day talks, saying he hopes the discussions will move forward in anticipation of continued talks on April 12 in Washington.

Indian and Pakistani experts on Monday opened round-table talks in Islamabad over water disputes between the two neighbours, even as tensions between them remain high.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty, India has exclusive rights to three Indus basin rivers, including the Ravi, which has virtually disappeared on the Pakistani side. (AP Photo)

Pakistan’s minister for water and power, Khawaja Asif, welcomed the Indian delegation for the two-day talks, saying he hopes the discussions will move forward in anticipation of continued talks on April 12 in Washington.

The 10-member Indian delegation, led by Indus Water Commissioner PK Saxena, held a closed-door meeting with the Pakistani side.

Both sides signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960, brokered by the World Bank, to share the vast water resources from the Indus River system, which supplies water to both countries. The treaty requires annual meetings but none have been held since May 2015 because of tense relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.

“Respect and implementation of this agreement ... is in the interest of both countries and this region,” Asif told reporters, adding that the Islamabad meeting would focus on three Indian projects for generating hydroelectric power on the Neelum and Jehlum rivers that flow through the disputed Kashmir.

Pakistan, a country of 180 million people with a largely agriculture-based economy, fears the projects could severely deplete its water resources. Many worry the dispute could further escalate tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.