Steering committee on Indus Water Treaty meets

A meeting of the steering committee was held on Monday to take stock of the ongoing modification process of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

On January 25, India issued a notice to Pakistan seeking a review and modification of the 62-year-old treaty following Islamabad's ''intransigence'' in handling disputes.

The Ministry of External Affairs said the committee meeting was chaired by the Secretary, in the Department of Water Resources, the Ministry of Jal Shakti and was attended by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra among other senior officials of the two ministries.

''The meeting took stock of the ongoing modification process of the Indus Waters Treaty,'' the MEA said.

''Matters related to the ongoing Neutral Expert proceedings pertaining to the Kishenganga and Ratle Hydroelectric Projects were also discussed,'' it said.

India and Pakistan signed IWT on September 19, 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the World Bank being a signatory of the pact which sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two sides on the use of waters of a number of cross-border rivers.

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