India to attend Lahore meeting on Indus Water Treaty: local media

NEW DELHI/KARACHI: India will take part in the meeting of Permanent Indus Commission to be held in Lahore this month, Indian media reported.

The move comes nearly after two months of diplomatic negotiations, with World Bank officials playing the mediator.

The commission provides a platform to officials from Pakistan and India to implement and manage goals of the Indus Water Treaty.

Pakistan and India share the waters of Indus River Basin which has been a major source of contention between the two states since independence.

In order to resolve the disputes, both countries signed IWT in 1960 with the help of World Bank which has survived over five decades of hostilities between the two states. The treaty controls water distribution of rivers Ravi, Sutlej, Beas, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

However, due to the recent indigenous upsurge in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), water has once again become a divisive issue.

Indian PM Narendra Modi's statement “blood and water cannot flow together” and the threat of unilaterally abrogating the treaty have resulted into a new wave of hydro politics around Pakistan and brought IWT under stress.

In September last year, Indian premier met with officials to review provisions of the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan.

New Delhi ruled out cancelling the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, yet is looking for ways to increase its use of waters that flow from India but are controlled by Pakistan.