Pak accuses India of not fulfilling its responsibilities under Indus Waters Treaty

Pakistan on Monday accused India of not fulfilling its responsibilities under the Indus Waters Treaty. Voicing concerns over India's construction of new dams, Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, in his written reply submitted in the National Assembly, said Pakistan has expressed concerns over the construction of new dams by India along the Indus river system.

Geo News of Pakistan quoted Aziz as saying that India has not been fulfilling its responsibilities under the Indus Waters Treaty.

Last week Sharif had spoken to CEO World Bank Kristalina Georgieva in Islamabad on the issue and had urged him to play a lead role in resolving the water disputes between Pakistan and India by establishing a Court of Arbitration.

World Bank in 1960 had brokered the famous Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) apportioning the several rivers and utilisation of their waters between Pakistan and India.

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Being the guarantor of the IWT it adjudicates any dispute between the two countries.

Recently, its role has been under scanner due to the dispute over two hydropower projects by India to which Pakistan has objected.

Pakistan in October had approached the World Bank, seeking appointment of Chairman of Court of Arbitration to resolve the dispute over construction of two mega projects.

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Last week, a UN report had said the 40-year-old Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan has been an outstanding example of conflict resolution but scarcity of water in the basin states since the early 1990s has brought the agreement under strain and its survival appears weak.

With PTI Inputs