Water sharing between India and Pakistan: a critical evaluation of the Indus Water Treaty

Abstract

For nearly 50 years a relatively stable Indus Water Treaty (IWT) moderated competition for the Indus water between Pakistan and India. Rising demand for water in each nation could unsettle this stable relationship, as foreshadowed by the involvement of a third party during 2005–2007 for the first time in the treaty's history. This paper discusses Pakistan and India's experience in the context of other international shared rivers. For the benefit of their people, Pakistan and India could coordinate unilateral development and resolve issues rather than defer them.

Notes

1. An anonymous referee estimated the division of water between India and Pakistan allocates 81% of the Indus to Pakistan and 19% to India. Pakistan and India do not publish flows so it was not possible to validate that water allocation estimate.

2. An anonymous referee's observation.

3. Hydropower development in India in the Chenab Basin in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir under the Prime Minister's 50,000 MW initiative has now opened up for development by private investors. According to an anonymous referee, most of these hydropower projects are likely to be run-of-the-river only.

4. An anonymous referee made a similar observation.

5. An excellent summary of the neutral expert decision is provided by Salman (2008) and the following paragraph is based on this article.

6. An anonymous referee's observation.