India Pakistan tension: Pakistan has suffered another major setback amid the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan. In the controversy over the Indus Water Treaty, the World Bank has clearly stated that it cannot force India to change its decision in this matter. This statement has shocked Pakistan’s expectations, which was preparing to take the dispute to the World Bank.
India suspended the treaty after the Pahalgam attack
26 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. It was revealed that this attack was related to Pakistan. Following this incident, India decided to suspend the Indus Water Treaty signed with Pakistan in 1960. India also closed the Attari-Wagah border with Pakistan, expelled Pakistan’s top diplomats from the country and canceled all the short-term visas issued to Pakistani citizens.
Opposing India’s decision, Pakistan claimed that India cannot unilaterally cancel the treaty. Pakistan also said that since this treaty has been done by the World Bank, it will contact the World Bank on the matter. However, the World Bank has destroyed these expectations of Pakistan.
World Bank’s clear statement
World Bank President Ajay Banga met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. After this meeting, he clarified in a conversation with CNBC-TV18 that, “The Indus Water Treaty is an agreement between the two countries. If there is any dispute between the two countries, the role of the World Bank is limited to arrange a fair expert or an intermediary. For this, we pay the fees of experts or mediators from a trust fund, which was kept in the bank at the time of the treaty.”
In addition, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) quoted Banga as saying, “There is a lot of speculation in the media about how the World Bank will solve this problem, but this is all in vain. The role of the World Bank is only a facility.”
India Pakistan Tension: Pakistan’s plan failed
At the end of last month, Pakistan announced that it would contact the World Bank to reverse India’s “unilateral and illegal” decision. Pakistani experts believed that the World Bank could put pressure on India. However, a recent statement by the World Bank has raised doubts over Pakistan’s plan.
India’s charge: Pakistan violates the treaty
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Mistry said in a press conference on Thursday, “Pakistan has been constantly creating obstacles for many years, due to which India was forced to suspend the Indus Water Treaty. We had written many letters to Pakistan requesting negotiations to amend the treaty. India has followed this treaty for more than 60 years, but Pakistan has been violating it. Is.”
What is Indus Water Treaty?
The Indus Water Treaty was concluded between India and Pakistan on 19 September 1960 in the World Bank’s mediation. The treaty was signed by the then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and the then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan in Karachi, Pakistan. Under this treaty, an agreement was reached on the water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries – Ravi, Vyas, Sutlej, Jhelum, Chenab and Kabul.
According to the treaty, India was allowed to use Eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej water without any restrictions, while Pakistan got the right to use Western rivers – Indus, Chenab and Jhelum water.
After this statement of the World Bank, the situation of Pakistan has become further weakened. India has made it clear that it has taken these strict steps due to Pakistan’s terrorist activities and treaty violations. It remains to be seen what will be the next step of Pakistan in this matter.
