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Indus Water Treaty revisited
By Prof Dr Shaista
Tabassum
PAKISTAN
is facing some serious challenges to its agriculture. It is due to
sharp decline in the flow of water from River Chenab. The reason is
that India is filling up the reservoirs of the Baghliar dam
constructed over River Chenab in the occupied areas of Jammu and
Kashmir. This is despite the fact that the Indus Basin Water Treaty
has given only limited rights to India for using waters of River
Chenab.The Indus treaty of 1960 is often praised and quoted as one
of the most successful examples of the concepts of Confidence
Building Measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan. A large number
of academic papers, commentaries and research have been undertaken
on the successful functioning of the treaty. It is argued that the
treaty has successfully worked despite some very tense situations
and two wars (1965 and 1971) between the two countries. It is widely
believed among many North American think tanks that the treaty has
set such an example of CBMs that the Kashmir dispute could also be
settled if the philosophy behind the IBWT is seriously adhered to.
But is it really a success as far as Pakistan is concerned and how
far it has benefited the latter?
On April 1, 1948 India for the first time stopped the flow of water
from the canals on its side towards Pakistan. By this unfriendly
action of India about 5.5 per cent of the sown area and almost 8 per
cent of the cultivated area in West Pakistan was left without water
at the beginning of the Kharif season. Pakistan in this situation
agreed to have an Inter-Dominion Agreement with India which was
concluded on May 4, 1948. This agreement provided that East Punjab
would continue to supply water to West Punjab for irrigation
purposes while giving the latter province sufficient time to develop
alternative water resources.
The fundamental principal in the agreement was similar to what had
later been agreed after 12 years in the form of Indus Basin water
treaty. The clause 4 of the agreement is stated to have been against
the basic stand adopted by Pakistan. Yet, Pakistan decided to go
ahead with the agreement because it was supposed to be an ad hoc
agreement. But later Pakistan walked out of the agreement. The
reason was that it wanted to protect its lower riparian rights while
India insisted on complete control of the water flowing from its
side.
An important feature of the early history of water dispute is a
survey of the area undertaken by an American expert Mr Lilenthal. He
was invited by Indian premier Jawaharlal Nehru. But when he
submitted his observations on the matter, he was not given much
importance by India because these favoured Pakistan’s position.
Then, the World Bank offered its good offices to resolve the water
dispute between the two countries. Its efforts continued till 1954
when the bank came out with its own formula which was a refined
version of what India had hitherto been insisting upon and had also
got incorporated in the 1948 agreement.
The World Bank proposed to divide the six rivers of Punjab between
the two countries, giving Sutlej, Beas and Ravi to India and Jehlum,
Chenab and Indus to Pakistan. It also granted a transitional period
to Pakistan to construct a network of canals as an alternative to
the waters it will lose by giving up Beas, Ravi and Sutlej.
The political and bilateral relations between India and Pakistan are
not completely isolated and bilateral in nature. There is always an
invisible third force as was evident in this case as well. The World
Bank sponsored several rounds of talks which were held in
Washington, in different phases from 1952 to 1959. When Prime
Minister Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy in June 1957 was about to leave
the country to meet the then British prime minister, he was invited
by President Eisenhower to visit the US as well. He accepted the
invitation and without any prior meeting schedules and preparation
he went to the US to meet the President. Before going to the US, he
stated that he will also discuss the canal water dispute with the
American president apart from the matters of bilateral importance
between the two countries.
The military government of Gen Ayub Khan made conciliatory overtures
towards India. He met the Indian prime minister at the Palam airport
in New Delhi on September 1, 1959 and during the 50-minute meeting
between the two leaders some vital discussions regarding
India-Pakistan relations had taken place. The landmark treaty was
signed exactly after one year.
To be precise, the Indus water treaty is one of the most unfortunate
episodes of history in the subcontinent. It is one of the most
biased agreements concluded between the two countries. The treaty
claimed to have created a balance in water rights of India and
Pakistan but the fact remains that it has deprived Pakistan of the
use of water of the three rivers (Sutlej, Beas and Ravi). India
practically diverted the three rivers to its side, and made these
rivers dry on Pakistan’s side.
India was given limited rights over the use of the waters of Jehlum,
Chenab and Indus, but the application of these clauses of the treaty
seems to be ineffective, because despite treaty’s clear provisions
India has stopped the waters of Chenab beyond the limits placed by
the treaty. The implementation mechanism is so slow that by the time
any decision is reached against the defiance of the clauses, India
is able to achieve its desired objective. Another important fact
that cannot be neglected is that not only India can stop water, it
can also release excessive water and thus create havoc in Pakistan
as it did on a limited level during the present monsoon season on
river Ravi.
The treaty is a fact and there is no way coming out of it. The
history tells us the mistakes committed in the realm of foreign
policy. The only purpose to revisit history is to learn lessons
which should not be re-learned. There is no denying the fact that
the foreign policy blunders are unforgivable. When the
decision-makers are unable to resist pressures and they make wrong
decisions the state and its people, generation after generation,
suffer.
DAWN,Saturday,11 October ,2008.
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