Indus Waters Treaty: One year since Operation Sindoor, how India and Pakistan have approached the deadlock

📌 Summary:

• More than a year since India put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT, 1960) "in abeyance" in response to the Pahalgam terror attack (April 2025); India does not consider itself bound by the Treaty for now

• IWT governs sharing of 6 transboundary rivers: Indus, Jhelum, Chenab (Western rivers — Pakistan's share) and Ravi, Sutlej, Beas (Eastern rivers — India's share)

• India's decision has disrupted normal water flows reaching Pakistan, becoming the most contentious bilateral issue in the already-troubled relationship

• Pakistan's legal counter-strategy: sought intervention of UN, International Court of Justice (ICJ), World Bank, and other third-party agencies to build an international legal case against India

• Court of Arbitration (constituted under IWT mechanism) ruled that India's abeyance decision did not deprive it of jurisdiction; Pakistan claimed this as a legal victory — India has rejected these proceedings entirely, arguing a parallel World Bank-appointed Neutral Expert mechanism was already operational

• India never participated in the Court of Arbitration proceedings and has rejected all its rulings

• Pakistan's larger objective: get UNSC to pass a resolution against India or refer the matter to ICJ — neither is likely given India's diplomatic standing and the P5 veto dynamics

• India's position: the Treaty can be held in abeyance given changed circumstances (cross-border terrorism); a unilateral legal mechanism cannot bind India without its participation

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 – International Relations → India-Pakistan relations; also tests knowledge of IWT provisions, World Bank's role, and India's use of international law as a strategic tool.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• IWT signed: September 19, 1960 (between India and Pakistan, with World Bank as guarantor)

• Eastern rivers (India's use): Ravi, Sutlej, Beas

• Western rivers (Pakistan's use): Indus, Jhelum, Chenab

• IWT put "in abeyance" by India: April/May 2025, after Pahalgam attack

• Court of Arbitration: Constituted under IWT Annexure G; India objects to its jurisdiction

• Neutral Expert: World Bank-appointed mechanism (India participates); separate from Court of Arbitration

🔑 Key Term: In Abeyance — A legal term meaning a treaty's obligations are temporarily suspended; India's use of this signals it considers IWT non-operative until Pakistan stops cross-border terrorism.