Pakistan rejects reports regarding Indian proposal for modification in Indus Water Treaty

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Friday rejected media reports regarding Indian proposal for modification in the Indus Waters Treaty, the water-sharing agreement between nuclear neighbours in South Asia.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch issued the statement as a Court of Arbitration in the Hague conducted first hearing on Pakistan's objections to the controversial designs of Kishanganga and Ratle Hydroelectric Projects.

The spokesperson said the Court of Arbitration had been set up under the relevant provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty and such media reports should not divert attention from the important proceedings of this Court.

The first two-day hearing will continue to Saturday as Pakistan has reservations on the designs of the 330-megawatt Kishenganga and 850-megawatt Ratle hydropower projects on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers.

Pakistan is of the view that construction of the projects with its own design would damage the irrigation system in the Punjab province.

Under the Indus Water Treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank in 1960, the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi were allocated to India while the waters of Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab were allocated to Pakistan. 

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