World Bank chief reacts to India's Indus Waters Treaty move: ‘No role to play beyond…’
Ajay Banga has clarified that the institution will not intervene in the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.
World Bank president Ajay Banga on Thursday ruled out any intervention in the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, following the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
Ajay Banga clarified that the World Bank’s role is limited to that of a facilitator, and it will not step in to resolve the current dispute.
“We have no role to play beyond a facilitator. There’s a lot of speculation in the media about how the World Bank will step in and fix the problem but it’s all bunk. The World Bank’s role is merely as a facilitator,” Banga said, according to a statement from the Press Information Bureau.
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Banga had earlier met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, prompting speculation that the World Bank might get involved. However, Banga dismissed those reports, stressing the bank’s limited role.
World Bank chief Ajay Banga is on a day-long visit to Uttar Pradesh, where he is attending a series of meetings and events in Lucknow and Barabanki. On Friday, he met with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the state capital.
India puts Indus Waters Treaty on hold
India put the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty on hold a day after the deadly attack, demanding that Pakistan take credible and irreversible steps to end its support for cross-border terrorism after the terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26.
The treaty, signed after nine years of talks between the two nations with the World Bank’s assistance, governs the sharing of waters from six rivers. Under the agreement, Pakistan controls the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—while India uses the eastern rivers—Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. India is allowed 20% of the water from the western rivers.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Thursday that India has tried for over two years to negotiate updates to the treaty, but Pakistan has refused to engage.
“Pakistan has repeatedly created legal hurdles, preventing India from exercising its rights under the treaty,” Misri said at a press briefing. “Despite multiple provocations, including wars, India has upheld the treaty for 65 years. But Pakistan’s refusal to cooperate left us with no choice.”
Misri also criticised Pakistan’s lack of response to India’s formal requests for talks, saying this further justified India’s decision to suspend the agreement.
