The World Bank (WB) on Thursday urged India and Pakistan to agree to mediation in order to settle on a mechanism for how the Indus Water Treaty should be used to resolve issues regarding two dams under construction along the Indus river system.
The Bank released a statement in which it made the appeal telling both the countries that it was responding to their separate proceedings initiated under the Indus Water Treaty 1960. It also held a drawing of a lot to determine who will appoint three umpires to sit on the Court of Arbitration that Pakistan has requested. It proposed to the two countries the names of three potential candidates for appointment as neutral experts, following India’s request.
“The World Bank Group has a strictly procedural role under the Indus Water Treaty and the treaty does not allow it to choose whether one procedure should take precedence over the other. This is why we drew a lot and proposed potential candidates for the neutral expert today,” said senior Vice President and the Bank’s Group General Counsel Anne-Marie Leroy.
“What is clear, though, is that pursuing two concurrent processes under the treaty could make it unworkable over time and we therefore urge both the parties to agree on mediation that the World Bank Group can help arrange. The two countries can also agree to suspend the two processes during the mediation process or at any time until the processes are concluded.”
The Indus Water Treaty 1960 is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict. The Bank is a signatory to the Treaty. The Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries. It also sets out a process for resolving so-called “questions”, “differences” and “disputes” that may arise between the parties.
The current proceedings under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330MW) and Ratle (850MW) hydroelectric power plants. The power plants are being built by India on, respectively, the Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers. Neither of the two plants is being financed by the Bank, it explained in the statement.
This article originally appeared in The News, 11 November, 2016. Original link.
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