India and Pakistan held secretary level talks in Islamabad on the Tulbul Navigation Project/Wullar Barrage, after a hiatus of nearly three years, on May 12-13. The talks on the Wullar barrage-Tulbul navigation project are part of the bilateral dialogue process that was revived only recently, after a gap of over two years. The Pakistan delegation was led by Javed Iqbal, Secretary, Ministry of Water and Power, Government of Pakistan, while the Indian delegation was headed by Dhruv Vijai Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India.
A joint statement, issued after the two-day talks said that India would provide detailed technical data to Pakistan within a month. Pakistan in turn would examine this data, and respond with its views to India, by September 15. One of the significant outcomes of this meet according to the head of the Indian delegation was, that for the first time the thrust was not on the legitimacy of the project, but more on whether the project would have any adverse consequences for Pakistan or not. Singh also said that both sides aimed to find an amicable solution within the ambit of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.
The Indian side also offered to change the design of the project in such a way, as to leave one of its bays as an un-gated structure. During the course of the meeting, Pakistan also sought an assurance from India, that the navigation project will not be utilized to block water flow in early March, the ’kharif’ crop season, when supply is pivotal for agriculture. The Indian side has responded in the affirmative to the Pakistani demand. Both sides also vehemently denied that the Indian delegation had walked out on the first day. Some media reports claimed that the Indian team had walked out of talks on May 12.
The Tulbul project was conceived in 1986 so as to enable year-round flow of water in the Wullar Lake for commercial and tourism purposes, which in turn would generate employment in Kashmir. It has been at a standstill for nearly two and a half decades as Pakistan believes the construction is a flagrant violation of Article I (11) of the Indus Water Treaty, which prohibits both parties from undertaking any "man-made obstruction" that may result in "change in the volume …of the daily flow of waters" unless it is of a negligible amount. Pakistan also believes that the project also directly breaches Article III (4) which stopped India , from "store
any water of, or construct any storage works on, the Western Rivers".
It might be mentioned however, that the treaty allowed limited storage (not exceeding 10,000 acre ft.) for purposes of flood control, though it prohibited storage of water "for the purpose of impounding the waters of a stream". India on the other hand believes that construction of the Tulbul does not violate the treaty even in the slightest way, since the project is not a storage facility for either drinking water or irrigation, but falls into the category of a regulating structure on water flows for non-consumptive use. The Indian side also informed Pakistan, that release of water in the winter season will be beneficial for Pakistani dams.
Water is an emotive issues for Pakistan, as is evident from some of the media reporting in that country and talks like the ones held recently will certainly not result in finding immediate solutions, but not talking will only add grist to the anti-India lobby’s mill.
It remains to be seen how Pakistan responds to the revised design of the project, and whether providing Pakistan with data on the project will help to soften Pakistan’s stand.
The consequences of these talks, and all other forms of renewed engagement is contingent upon the overall relationship between the two countries which hinges on the civil-military relationship in Pakistan. The Indian government, has steadfastly committed itself to continued engagement with Pakistan, in spite of scathing criticism from opposition parties, sections of the media and security analysts. The same cannot be said of the civilian government in Islamabad, which has missed out on a golden opportunity, in the aftermath of Operation Geronimo, to free itself from the clutches of the Army-ISI combine.
Tridivesh Singh Maini is Associate Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
PREV
