The Indus Waters Treaty: Need to adapt, or perish
Hindustan TimesJammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah recently voiced concerns about the impact of the Indus Waters Treaty on the Union territory’s power generation crisis and sought compensation from the Union government for the restrictions encoded in the treaty. India has issued a notice to Pakistan for modification of the Indus Waters Treaty of September 1960 following Islamabad's 'intransigence' on its implementation, government sources said on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. This perception may be unfounded, as India would be within its rights to move this way given Pakistan’s disregard for its treaty obligations under Article XII and continued abuse of the dispute resolution mechanism under the IWT to stall crucial hydroelectric projects in J&K, all of which amounts to bad faith conduct under international law. India could not have foreseen at the time of entering into the IWT without a termination clause that Pakistan would act deliberately and consistently to defeat the raison d’être of Article XII. Pakistan’s repeated refusal to engage with India on water-sharing issues, despite the framework of the IWT, is not just an inconvenience but a violation of Article XII and international law.