SRINAGAR: A Pakistani delegation has landed in occupied Jammu to inspect two hydroelectric projects, the Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai, under the framework of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.
This visit, the first in five years, aims to ensure these projects do not adversely affect Pakistan’s water rights.
The inspection is part of ongoing Neutral Expert Proceedings, a mechanism provided by the treaty, which was negotiated over nine years and brokered with the help of the World Bank to ensure a fair allocation of river waters between India and Pakistan.
The last inspection by a Pakistani team occurred in January 2019, but subsequent visits were halted following a deterioration in relations after India’s 2019 integration of occupied Jammu and Kashmir into its territory.
In addition to the Pakal Dul and Kalnai projects, the delegation is set to review the Kishen Ganga and Ratle projects in the Chenab Valley—regions critical to the water treaty.
Disputes over these hydroelectric projects led Pakistan to seek intervention from the World Bank in 2016, initially opting for an arbitration court but later agreeing to proceed with neutral experts, a stance India has consistently favored. After stalled negotiations, the World Bank appointed a neutral expert and the head of an arbitration court in October 2022.
In a significant development, the arbitration court declared its jurisdiction in July 2023 to address the matters raised by Pakistan, who submitted pertinent legal documents in March 2023. Meanwhile, India, refusing to engage in arbitration proceedings, pushed for a neutral expert’s review in August 2023.
Most recently, in September, Pakistan participated in discussions held in Vienna under the appointed neutral expert, continuing the complex legal and diplomatic engagement over these contentious water projects.
