Indus Water Treaty: India seeks rectification of material breach, asks Pak for suitable date
New Delhi, February 2: Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's Indus Commissioner has issued a notice to Pakistan's counterpart to notify a date for the start of interstate bilateral negotiations to rectify an ongoing material breach of the Indus Water Treaty.
He also clarified that India is not involved in the process of the arbitration court.
"We have issued rather our India's Indus Commissioner issued a notice on January 25 for modification of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 to his Pakistani counterpart. This notice was issued with the intent to provide Pakistan with an opportunity to enter into government-to-government negotiations, to rectify an ongoing material breach of the treaty. We have called upon Pakistan to notify a suitable date for the commencement of interstate bilateral negotiations under article XII (3) within 90 days," Bagchi said.
"I am not aware of a response from Pakistan as of yet. I am not aware of any response or comment by the World Bank," Bagchi added.
The spokesperson went on to say that India is not participating or involved in the process in any way, in response to a media query on New Delhi's position on the arbitration court.
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According to sources, India issued a notice to Pakistan on January 25 to modify the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of September 1960 after Islamabad's actions violated the treaty's provisions.
According to Article XII (3) of the IWT, the notice was delivered on January 25 through the respective Commissioners for Indus Waters.
According to sources, the purpose of the notice for modification is to give Pakistan the opportunity to enter into intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to rectify the material breach of the IWT. This procedure would also update IWT to reflect the lessons learned over the previous 62 years.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated last week that the Indus Waters Treaty is a technical matter and that future action will be determined by talks between India and Pakistan's Indus Commissioners.
" It will not be right for me to speak publically about what is happening in Pakistan. This is a technical matter, Indus Commissioners of both countries will talk about the Indus Water Treaty. We can only discuss our future steps after that," he said.
- ANI
