India has accepted Pakistan’s invitation to attend the next Permanent Indus Commission that will be held in Lahore in March, reported ANI. The development comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2016 had declared that “blood and water cannot flow together”, referring to the Indus Water Treaty.
The decision was made after World Bank officials played mediator between India and Pakistan, reported The Hindu. World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva, who was on a two-day visit to India earlier this week, and had visited Islamabad in January when she met Pakistan Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif.
An official told the English daily that it was a regular bilateral meeting to implement the Indus Water Treaty and insisted that there was no “shift” in India’s position. The Indus water commissioner and officials from the ministry of external affairs will be part of India’s delegation at the meeting.
The Permanent Indus Commission will meet before March 31, as it is “mandated” under the treaty, PTI reported. The treaty requires both countries to meet every financial year, however, the last time the commission met was in May 2015.
Issues like Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectricity projects in India were already presented before the World Bank, and hence, these issues may not be taken up at the meeting, the news agency reported quoting government sources. In January 2017, Pakistan had asked India to suspend the ongoing construction of the Kishanganga and Ratle hydro power projects. The two projects are being constructed on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers.
The commission, consisting of officials from India and Pakistan, meets every year to resolve issues related to its implementation. The Indus Water Treaty was signed in 1960 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan. According to the accord, India controls the rivers Beas, Ravi and Sutlej, while Pakistan holds reign over Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.
Following the attacks in Uri in September that left 19 Indian soldiers dead, Modi had said, “blood and water can’t flow together at the same time”. New Delhi had then decided to suspend talks with Pakistan over the treaty issue.
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