India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty on September 19, 1960, after nine years of negotiations.
Indus Waters Treaty: India has issued a notice to Pakistan seeking a review and modification of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) which deals with the use of water of cross-border rivers between the two sides.
The notice has been sent by India's Indus water commissioner to his Pakistani counterpart after Islamabad’s continued 'intransigence' in implementing the treaty. Since 2015, Pakistan has repeatedly raised objections to India’s Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects located in Jammu and Kashmir.
India seeks Islamabad's response within 90 days for inter-governmental negotiations to 'rectify the material breach' of the IWT. India took the significant step around 10 months after the World Bank announced appointing a neutral expert and a chair of the Court of Arbitration under two separate processes to resolve the differences over the two hydroelectric projects. Earlier, Islamabad had refused to address the matter through talks between the two commissioners.
However, government sources said India's call for the review and modification of the pact is not specific to the dispute resolution mechanism only, and that the negotiations could cover various other provisions of the pact, based on the experiences gained over the last 62 years, PTI reported.
What is Indus Waters Treaty?
India and Pakistan signed the IWT on September 19, 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the World Bank being a signatory to the pact. The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two sides on the use of the water of the Indus river and its five tributaries Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab.
Under the IWT, all the waters of the eastern rivers -- Sutlej, Beas and Ravi -- amounting to around 33 million acre feet (MAF) annually, is allocated to India for unrestricted use.
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The waters of the western rivers -- Indus, Jhelum and Chenab -- amounting to around 135 MAF annually, have been assigned largely to Pakistan. India is permitted to construct the run of the river plants on the western rivers with limited storage, according to the criteria specified in the treaty.
According to the provisions of Article VIII(5) of the IWT, the Permanent Indus Commission is required to meet at least once a year.
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 "DNA Explainer: What is Indus Water Treaty and why India wants to modify it?")
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