Indus Waters Treaty

Geography glossary

Also called: IWT · Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is a 1960 water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan for the six rivers of the Indus system. India gets the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Satluj) for unrestricted use. Pakistan gets the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab), and India may use them only in limited ways. The World Bank helped make the treaty and also signed it [1].

It matters because it is often called one of the most successful international water treaties. It survived many India–Pakistan conflicts [1]. Even so, India put it in abeyance (on hold) in April 2025 after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Explanation

How the treaty came about

  • The problem: the Indus system is a transboundary river system (rivers that flow through, or form the border between, two or more countries).
  • India is the upstream (upper riparian) country, nearer the source. Its dams and canals control the flow first.

  • Pakistan is the downstream (lower riparian) country. It depends on what flows down to it.

  • The process: nine years of talks began under former World Bank President Eugene Black [1].

  • The result: the treaty was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 by Jawaharlal Nehru (India) and Field Marshal Ayub Khan (Pakistan).
  • The World Bank is also a signatory [1]. Its role is only about procedure. It helps set up the dispute bodies. When asked, it names the Neutral Expert or the members of the Court of Arbitration [1].

How the rivers are divided

Group Rivers Who gets them
Eastern rivers Ravi, Beas, Satluj India, with unrestricted use
Western rivers Indus, Jhelum, Chenab Pakistan
  • India's limited rights on the western rivers:
  • Domestic use: drinking water and household needs.
  • Non-consumptive use: uses that give the water back to the river, such as navigation or fish farming.
  • Limited irrigation, within fixed limits.

  • Run-of-river hydropower: power plants that use the river's natural flow and store little or no water, so the flow downstream is not cut.

  • Each country keeps certain uses on the rivers given to the other [1].

How disputes are settled: three levels

  • Permanent Indus Commission (PIC): one Commissioner from each country. It is the channel for working together and sharing information [1].
Level Type of issue Who decides
1 "Questions" Permanent Indus Commission
2 "Differences" (technical) Neutral Expert
3 "Disputes" (legal) Ad hoc Court of Arbitration
  • Kishanganga and Ratle cases:
  • Both are Indian hydropower plants on western-river waters [1]. Kishanganga (330 MW, opened 2018) is on the Kishanganga (Neelum), a Jhelum tributary. Ratle (850 MW, under construction) is on the Chenab [1].
  • Pakistan said their designs break the treaty [1]. Pakistan asked for a Court of Arbitration. India asked for a Neutral Expert.
  • In October 2022 the World Bank named Michel Lino as Neutral Expert and Sean Murphy as Chairman of the Court of Arbitration [1].
  • Both processes began on 21 November 2022 and ran side by side [1]. India objected to two forums hearing the same issue.

Treaty in abeyance (2025)

  • Abeyance: the treaty is put on hold. India stops carrying it out but has not formally ended it.
  • The sequence of events:
  • 22 April 2025: terror attack at Pahalgam (J&K).
  • 23 April 2025: India held the IWT in abeyance, with effect from that day.

  • India's stand: the treaty stays on hold until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably stops supporting cross-border terrorism. (Status as of 2025; check for later changes.)

  • What happens on the ground:

  • India is pushing storage and hydropower projects on the western rivers in J&K, such as on the Chenab.
  • India no longer has to share hydrological (river-flow) data with Pakistan in the same way as before.

Where it occurs

  • Countries: India (upstream) and Pakistan (downstream), with the World Bank as a signatory [1]. Signed in Karachi, 1960.
  • Where the rivers start:
  • Indus: rises near Lake Mansarovar (Tibet) and flows through Ladakh into Pakistan.
  • Jhelum: rises at Verinag (J&K).
  • Chenab: formed where the Chandra and Bhaga meet at Tandi (Himachal Pradesh).

  • Satluj: rises near Rakas Lake in Tibet and enters India at Shipki La (Himachal Pradesh).

  • Indian projects on the western rivers (J&K): Kishanganga (Kishanganga/Neelum, a Jhelum tributary) and Ratle (Chenab) [1].

  • Where India uses eastern-river water:
  • Bhakra Nangal Project on the Satluj (Himachal Pradesh–Punjab), a Nehru-era multipurpose project and one of his "temples of modern India".
  • Indira Gandhi Canal (Rajasthan Canal) starts at the Harike Barrage, where the Satluj and Beas meet in Punjab. It carries water into the Thar Desert of western Rajasthan.
  • Heavy irrigation in Punjab has used up a lot of groundwater.

Don't confuse with

  • Ganga Waters Treaty (1996): an India–Bangladesh deal for sharing the Ganga's dry-season flow at Farakka, with a 30-year term ending in December 2026. The IWT is India–Pakistan, dates from 1960, has no expiry date and has the World Bank as a signatory.
  • Neutral Expert vs Court of Arbitration: the Neutral Expert handles technical "differences". The Court of Arbitration handles legal "disputes". India wanted the Neutral Expert for Kishanganga–Ratle and Pakistan wanted the Court.
  • Abeyance vs termination: abeyance means the treaty is on hold. India stops carrying it out, but the treaty has not formally ended.
  • Run-of-river vs storage project: run-of-river plants use the natural flow and store little water, which the IWT allows India on the western rivers. Storage dams hold back large volumes of water.

Prelims Hooks

  • The IWT was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 by Nehru and Ayub Khan, after nine years of talks started by Eugene Black. The World Bank is a signatory [1].
  • Eastern rivers go to India: Ravi, Beas, Satluj. Western rivers go to Pakistan: Indus, Jhelum, Chenab. Trap: the Chenab is a western river even though it rises in Himachal Pradesh (Tandi).
  • Dispute ladder: Questions → Permanent Indus Commission; Differences → Neutral Expert; Disputes → Court of Arbitration [1].
  • Kishanganga (330 MW) is on a Jhelum tributary. Ratle (850 MW) is on the Chenab. Both are in J&K [1].
  • In October 2022 the World Bank named Michel Lino (Neutral Expert) and Sean Murphy (Court of Arbitration Chairman) [1].
  • India held the IWT in abeyance on 23 April 2025, the day after the Pahalgam attack (22 April 2025).

Mains Points

  • Water linked to security (GS-II/GS-III): putting the IWT in abeyance lets India build storage and run-of-river projects on the Chenab and Jhelum.
  • Gains: more power and irrigation for J&K.

  • Risks: questions under international law. China could also use it as a precedent on the Brahmaputra, where India is the downstream country.

  • Weak dispute system: in 2022 the Neutral Expert and the Court of Arbitration ran side by side on the same issue (Kishanganga–Ratle). This showed the treaty's three-level dispute system breaking down [1]. India's case is that one issue should go to one forum.

  • India as both upstream and downstream country: India is upstream of Pakistan on the Indus but downstream of China on the Brahmaputra and Satluj. So whatever India asks of China (data sharing, transparency, consultation), Pakistan can ask of India. India's IWT policy has to balance both positions.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Fact Sheet: The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and the World Bankworldbank.org · tier 2