‘India sharing regular updates on floodwater flow under…’: Pakistan

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Indus Water Treaty between the two nations. India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations.  At a weekly media briefing, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked about options for Pakistan if India refused to accept the Court of Arbitration and its verdict on the Kishanganga and Ratle reservoirs issue, according to PTI reports.  “The Indus Waters Treaty was a gold standard of bilateral treaties on water and served both Pakistan and India well," she responded.  It is pertinent to note that the treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding the use of waters of a number of rivers.  In 2015, Pakistan requested the appointment of a neutral expert to examine its technical objections to India’s Kishenganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs).

In 2016, Pakistan unilaterally retracted this request and proposed that a Court of Arbitration adjudicate its objections. “Pakistan is fully committed to its full implementation.

And, we hope that India will also remain committed to the Treaty," she added.  Last month, India said it cannot be compelled to participate in "illegal" proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects in Kashmir after the Hague-based tribunal ruled that it has the "competence" to consider the dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad on the matter, PTI reported.  "India cannot be compelled to recognize or participate in illegal and parallel proceedings not envisaged by the treaty," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi. FO Spokesperson Baloch also said that following the recent extraordinary rainfalls in India and