Parliamentary panel urges government to approach World Bank for setting up arbitration court over Indus Treaty

A joint parliamentary panel on Friday unanimously called upon the government to ask the World Bank to immediately constitute a court of arbitration to adjudicate on India's ongoing construction of Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric plants, and bring construction of Ratle dam to a halt till the issue is resolved.
A clubbed meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Standing Committee on Water and Power, jointly presided over by the committee's chairmen - Sardar Awais Khan Leghari and Arshad Khan Leghari -, respectively, adopted a unanimous resolution after threadbare discussion on Indian threat to Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and to chalk out future course of action for Pakistan.
Both the standing committees in the joint resolution, drafted by former finance minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, urged the government to ask the World Bank that "it must be in accordance with its responsibilities, under the IWT, to constitute a court of arbitration without further delay to adjudicate on the issues raised by Pakistan against India's ongoing construction of Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric plants. Till the World Bank constitutes the court of arbitration, it must demand of India an immediate halt to ongoing construction of Ratle dam till the issue is resolved".
Briefing the meeting, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said that the WB has called for further pause on the arbitration, but Pakistan has refused to accept the advice till construction of the Ratle dam is stopped.
"This is a matter of life and death for us and we will protect our rights under the Treaty at any cost", Chaudhry said, and hoped that the WB would play its role not only to resolve the current controversy, but also for the preservation of the Treaty.
"India wants to appoint neutral experts, while Pakistan desires setting up of court of arbitration to resolve the matter," he said, and added that experts can only look into the designs of the projects while the court gives its judgement based on legal aspects.
Foreign Secretary acknowledged the concerns of the members that the ongoing pause would benefit India, adding that further delay in constitution of the court of arbitration would give India an opportunity to continue with the construction work.
He said that the Indian threat of revoking the IWT is part of the Indian rhetoric it has adopted since the BJP government came into power and Modi's government has focused on constructions of run of the river hydropower projects on the western rivers. He said that Pakistan has all the rights on the western rivers and it would not accept construction of any dam on the western rivers.
He said that Pakistan wants that IWT must remain intact, as it has provisions to protect the rights of Pakistan. "A debate has even been initiated within India and intellectuals and experts are warning the BJP government of the repercussions of any violation of the Treaty", he added.
He, however, said that Pakistan has all the rights to use "other option" in case of Indian violation of the IWT. He said that it was not only a legal matter, but a political and strategic one, as well and Modi's government was currently playing the strategic part of the matter.
About the possibility of another treaty with India, he said that the IWT has more provisions to protect the rights of the lower riparian, adding "it's due to this reason, we are not in favour of any other treaty".
Secretary Water and Power, Younus Dagha said that International Water Treaty (IWT) 1960 facilitated by the World Bank between Pakistan and India has given unrestricted rights to Pakistan on western rivers as compared to International Conventions.
He further argued that if Pakistan opts to seek relief from other International Treaties and in case Pakistan goes for this option, it would be deprived of its right, adding that IWT grants leverage to approach the court of arbitration as third party.
Secretary Water and Power, who has visited United States and Britain to discuss the issue with World Bank and international lawyers, further stated that India enjoys restricted right to construct run of the river hydroelectric projects with minimum storage capacity.
Pakistan had approached three different forums in the past on disputes with India. First time Pakistan approached a neutral expert on Baghlihar hydroelectric project, then in arbitration on Kishanganga and this time the country was making efforts to go for third party.
"We are taking the Kishanganga hydroelectric project and Ratle hydroelectric project before the third party," he added. Replying to a question, he said that it would not be suitable for India to think about any solution outside the Treaty because it has restrictions under the IWT about the structures of the hydroelectric projects. The three disputes with India were on design of poundage and sediment flushing.
He said India had tried to delay bilateral negotiations process aimed at gaining further time, but Pakistan taken all the measures required prior to approaching the World Bank for appointment of court of arbitration. Pakistan maintains that India has optimised Ratle's design which disables India from claiming that this is the best design under the IWT.
Responding to questions about local water issues, Secretary Water and Power said that Indus Water River System Authority (Irsa) is the best module which needs to be further strengthened. However, he argued that keeping in view the nature of issues, there should be proper preparedness at the level of government.
Dagha further stated that the government has decided to construct Diamer Bhashas' dam structure from Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) which would help store 6.4MAF water per annum. He acknowledged that substantial time has been wasted in the hope of foreign funding.
Joint Secretary (Water) Mehar Ali Shah gave detailed briefing about the history of IWT and the role of Permanent Indus Water Commission (PIWC). According to this treaty, waters of the three western rivers (the Jhelum, the Chenab, and the Indus itself) were allocated to Pakistan, and those of the three eastern rivers (the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej) were allocated to India. The Indus Commission is the first step for conflict resolution.
Briefing the committee, Ahmer Bilal Soofi, international law expert, said that the water issue with India is becoming more serious and it is going beyond the prism of IWT.
He suggested that Water Law Institute should be established through an Act of the Parliament that could be the primary venue of legal research on International Water Law, upper and lower riparian matters.
At present, he pointed out that Pakistan has no expertise in water laws, adding young lawyers should be given the task to equip themselves with required expertise to undertake a good legal fight in the future.
He further suggested that the committee on foreign affairs should send letters to Lok Saba, World Bank and Chairman Human Rights Council in Geneva to express Pakistan's serious concerns on India's postures of using water as a war tactic.
As far as the Indian threat of revoking the IWT is concerned, he said that it seems more a rhetoric than a reality as neither India nor Pakistan can unilaterally revoke the treaty. However, he added that Pakistan should be prepared for any situation that may arise due to the continued India aggressive designs.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI's representative in the committee, said that the water issues are leading the two countries towards a serious situation. "This issue is even becoming more serious than the Kashmir dispute", he said, adding the government needs to take serious steps to resolve the issues with India related to water.