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Pakistan Indus water panel delegation, neutral experts to visit Jammu and Kashmir

Pakistan Indus water panel delegation, neutral experts to visit Jammu and Kashmir

Confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers

A delegation from Pakistan under the Indus Water Commission, led by neutral experts, is set to visit the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir later this month.

The administration of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday (June 15)appointed liaison officers in preparation for the delegation's visit.

These neutral experts are responsible for addressing technical questions related to the design, construction, and operation of engineering works on the rivers governed by the treaty. Such delegation visits are routine.

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The last Pakistan delegation visit was in 2019, but this time they are accompanied by neutral experts.

Technical objections have been a recurring theme under the Indus water treaty of 1960 for which neutral experts have been deployed.

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). India, in turn, made a separate request for a neutral expert to address the matter.

The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, allocates the waters of three Eastern Rivers—Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi—to India for unrestricted use.

Conversely, the waters of three Western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—are allocated to Pakistan. Despite this division, India retains the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the Western rivers, provided they adhere to specific design criteria.