New Delhi: India has welcomed the World Bank-appointed Neutral Expert’s announcement that he is competent to address certain issues related to projects under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, noting that it vindicates New Delhi’s stance.
The Neutral Expert, Michael Lino, issued this press release on January 20 this year.
On October 13, 2022, the World Bank, under Article IX and Annexure F of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 had appointed Lino as Neutral Expert in proceedings started by India against Pakistan on the Kishenganga Hydroelectric Plant, located on the Kishenganga/Neelum River in the Gurez Valley, and the Ratle Hydroelectric Plant, under construction on the Chenab River in the Chenab Valley.
Lino convened his first meetings with the two parties on February 2023 at the headquarters of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Luc Deroo was appointed the Neutral Expert’s Technical Assistant.
Through 2023 and 2024, Lino conducted proceedings, discussions, meetings and site visits to the two plants. It has considered submissions from both countries.
In the statement the Neutral Expert has noted that it finds “no need to address Pakistan’s second alternative submission.” With respect to Pakistan’s first alternative submission, the Neutral Expert noted that “he does not address any issues pertaining to the competence of the 2022 Court of Arbitration.”
India has welcomed this.
“India welcomes the decision given by the Neutral Expert under Paragraph 7 of Annexure F to the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960. The decision upholds and vindicates India’s stand that all seven (07) questions that were referred to the Neutral Expert, in relation to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, are differences falling within his competence under the Treaty,” the Ministry of External Affairs statement said.
The statement noted that India has always held that the expert alone is able to decide on differences on the treaty.
“It has been India’s consistent and principled position that the Neutral Expert alone has the competence under the Treaty to decide these differences. Having upheld his own competence, which comports with India’s view, the Neutral Expert will now proceed to the next (merits) phase of his proceeding. This phase will culminate in a final decision on the merits of each of the seven differences,” the MEA said.
New Delhi also noted that India is committed to preserving the word of the treaty and will continue to participate in the neutral expert process – “which does not provide for parallel proceedings on the same set of issues. ”
“For this reason, India does not recognise or participate in the illegally constituted Court of Arbitration proceedings,” it said.
As The Wire has reported before, Pakistan’s initial request to the World Bank in 2016, concerning its objections to the design features of the two hydroelectric power projects, sought a settlement through a Neutral Expert. However, Pakistan later withdrew this request and sought adjudication through a Court of Arbitration. India, on the other hand, insisted that the issue should be resolved solely through ‘Neutral Expert’ proceedings.
After failed negotiations, the World Bank appointed a Neutral Expert and the chair of Court of Arbitration in October 2022. Issuing a notice for modifying the Treaty, India had warned that “such parallel consideration of the same issues is not covered under any provision of the IWT”.
India refused to take part in the Court of Arbitration, and submitted a Memorial to the Neutral Expert in August 2023. Pakistan joined the second meeting of the parties held by Neutral Expert at Vienna in September last year, which discussed matters related to the organisation of the site visit.
The governments of India and Pakistan are in touch on the matter of modification and review of the Indus Waters Treaty, under Article XII (3) of the Treaty, the MEA also said.
