The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: For the second time in 20 months, India has served a formal notice to Pakistan to begin government-to-government negotiations for the revision of Indus Water Treaty due to a change in demographics, environmental policy and cross-border terrorism.
As per sources, India had served a formal notice seeking review and modification of the Indus Water Treaty under Article XII (3) on August 30. Article XII (3) says “provisions of this Treaty may from time to time be modified by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two Governments”
With this Notification, India has called Pakistan to begin G2G negotiations in order to review the Treaty under the provisions of Article XII(3), sources added.
India had first sent a notice to modify the treaty in January 2023, but there had not been much movement on that front.
While there is no official statement from the MEA, sources indicate that India’s notification underscores fundamental and unforeseen changes in circumstances that necessitate a reassessment of obligations under various Articles of the Treaty.
India’s concerns include shifts in population demographics, environmental challenges, the need to expedite clean energy development to meet its emission targets, and the impact of cross-border terrorism.
According to Indian sources, the notice for treaty modification was issued in the context of a “separate prolonged controversy regarding the Kishanganga and Ratle Hydro Projects.”
In 2016, Pakistan initially requested the World Bank to address its objections regarding the design features of two hydroelectric power projects through a ‘Neutral Expert.’ However, Pakistan later withdrew this request, opting instead for adjudication by a Court of Arbitration. India, however, remained firm that the dispute should be settled solely through the ‘Neutral Expert’ mechanism.
After negotiations failed, the World Bank appointed both a Neutral Expert and the chair of the Court of Arbitration in October 2022. In response, India issued a notice to modify the Treaty, warning that “such parallel consideration of the same issues is not covered under any provision of the IWT.”
In July 2023, the Court of Arbitration ruled that it was “competent to consider and determine the disputes set forth by Pakistan’s request for arbitration”. As part of this process, Pakistan submitted its first Memorial in March 2023, outlining its legal case with supporting documents. A month later, the Court conducted a week-long visit to the Neelum-Jhelum Hydro-Electric Plant in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to “familiarise the Court with general aspects of the design and operation of run-of-river hydro-electric plants along the Indus system of rivers.”
While India refused to participate in the Court of Arbitration, it submitted a Memorial to the Neutral Expert in August 2023. Pakistan, meanwhile, took part in the second meeting of the parties, organised by the Neutral Expert in Vienna in September 2022, where they discussed the logistics of the site visit.
In June this year, a Pakistani delegation visited Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Neutral Expert proceedings initiated by India.