India, Pakistan to hold talks between March 23-24 on Indus water-sharing

After a gap of two years, India and Pakistan will hold talks under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT), for which a delegation from Pakistan arrived in New Delhi on Monday. The annual Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) will observe the presence of officials from both sides who will discuss the management goals of the IWT as brokered by the World Bank.

While the treaty warrants the two nations to conduct meetings once every year, 2020's meet was cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pakistani Commissioner for Indus Water, Mehran Ali Shah told ANI "This will be an important meet. We will engage with India in accordance with the IWT and we are hopeful regarding this meeting." Islamabad however, is likely to raise queries to power projects on the Chenab River during the talks, reports Dawn.

Last PIC meet conducted in 2018

The previous PIC meet was held in Pakistan's Lahore, in 2018. Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters PK Saxena had led the delegation. The main aim of the PIC is to discuss the technical matters related to the implementation of IWT, while it enforces a mechanism for information exchange between India and Pakistan on the use of rivers. The PIC involves two Commissioners each from the two nations who further are a part of the discussion where "questions, differences and disputes" that may arise are resolved.

When Pakistan had raised objections over the construction of 330 megawatts Krishnanganga and 850 megawatts hydroelectric plants by India, the World Bank had intervened and sought cooperation between the two countries, in order to resolve the difference under the IWT Dispute 1960.