On Tuesday, Business Recorder sent the following queries to the World Bank: can any party to the treaty (India or Pakistan) alter or scrap the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) signed between Pakistan and India in 1960 brokered by the World Bank unilaterally? And what procedure is required to be adopted if any party wants to alter or scrap the Treaty?
The Washington-based World Bank''s spokesperson responded as follows: "The World Bank''s role in the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 is limited and strictly procedural and Business Recorder enquiry is best directed to the member governments." Local and international legal experts and officials of Pakistan government argue that the Indus Water Treaty cannot be altered or scrapped unilaterally.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General for Pakistan along with Secretary Water and Power, Muhammad Younus Dagha and Commissioner Indus Water Commission the Ambassador of Pakistan and senior officials from the Ministry of Water and Power called on the World Bank officials in Washington DC, including the head of legal department, to discuss the formation of Court of arbitration for resolving the matter of water disputes especially those related to construction of hydropower projects. The World Bank will be deciding the issue in the next few days, according to a press release.
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