09 March 2017•Update: 09 March 2017
By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
India has agreed to resume stalled talks on resolving a water dispute with Pakistan, a Pakistani official said Thursday.
New Dehli suspended negotiations over the Indus Waters Treaty following an attack by Kashmiri militants that killed 19 Indian soldiers last September.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria said the postponed annual meeting between the countries’ water commissioners would be held later this month in Lahore.
“It seems… India is finally realizing the importance of the mechanism under the Indus Waters Treaty for resolving the water disputes related to the Indus river and its tributaries,” Zakaria said.
Broadcaster Sama TV quoted an unnamed senior foreign ministry official as saying the talks would be held on March 20 and 21.
The 1960 treaty grants control of the eastern Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers to India while the western Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers fall under Pakistani control.
However, Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of violating the World Bank-brokered treaty by building dams on the western rivers, which all flow through Indian territory before reaching Pakistan.
India has complained that Pakistan benefits from a greater volume of water under the agreement.
Following the September attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened to scrap the treaty and Pakistan warned that such a move would amount to a declaration of war.
