A Triumph for the Indus Water Treaty: Transboundary Dispute Resolution in 1960

Abstract

During the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, at the time of independence from Britain, the borders were drawn with little consideration to water resources. After nine years of negotiations, the Indus Water Treaty was finally signed on September 19, 1960, with the cooperation of the World Bank. This article presents important conflicts between India and Pakistan on sharing Indus water including, Wullar barrage, Baglihar dam and Kishenganga projects and their successful resolution. The treaty has withstood the test of time and has been successful in maintaining peace on sharing of Indus water between not so friendly nations India and Pakistan. The disagreement has been successfully contained by the Treaty’s built-in mechanisms for conflict settlement at several levels, including the Permanent Indus Commissioner, Joint Secretaries, neutral expert, International Court of Arbitration, and UN.