New Delhi, June 24: India has formally requested a pause in proceedings related to disputes over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects, as it seeks to take control over its western river systems under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), officials on Tuesday said.
The government has, in a letter addressed to World Bank-appointed neutral expert Michel Lino, called for the suspension of the agreed work programme that outlines Pakistan’s written submissions by August and joint discussions scheduled for November.
After the Pahalgam attack, India kept the IWT in abeyance “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism”. Under the IWT, the waters of the “Eastern Rivers” — Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi – are for India’s unrestricted use, while the “Western Rivers” – Indus, Jhelum, Chenab – are primarily for Pakistan.
The World Bank has not yet issued a response.
The disputes being heard by Lino since 2022 concern two Indian hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir — Kishanganga, on the Kishanganga river, and Ratle, on the Chenab river.
A French dam engineer and, until recently, the president of the International Commission on Large Dams, Michel Lino, was appointed by the World Bank on October 13, 2022, under Article IX and Annexure F of the Indus Waters Treaty.
His mandate is to hear both India and Pakistan and determine whether the design of these projects complies with the treaty. Pakistan claims India is violating the treaty, particularly on minimum water flow requirements.
Following the Union Cabinet’s decision to keep the treaty in abeyance “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” the Indian government formally notified Lino and requested that he vacate the mutually agreed “work programme” about the Kishanganga and Ratle disputes. In its response to Lino, Pakistan objected to India’s stance and opposed any proposal to suspend the dispute resolution proceedings.
As per the agreed 2025 work programme, which India now wants vacated, Pakistan was to submit its written response – or counter memorial – to India’s submission by August 7. The fourth meeting of the neutral expert with both sides was scheduled for November 17 to 22.