BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

In the last week of June, a highprofile delegation from Pakistan travelled to Jammu and Kashmir to inspect hydropower projects covered under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), marking the first such visit in over five years to address differences between the two South Asian nations over shared water resources.

- Moazum Mohammad

The delegation, part of a Neutral Expert panel set up by the World Bank at India's request, was airlifted by helicopters amid tight security to Srinagar and Jammu's Kishtwar, where the disputed Ratle project is located. Accompanied by 25 liaison officers from the J&K administration, the full panel comprised at least 40 members from the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Russia and other nations, alongside Indian and Pakistani representatives.

This visit, coming amid frozen bilateral ties, has reignited discussions about the treaty's future and its potential to serve as a bridge between the two estranged neighbours. Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., views the delegation's visit as "significant", indicating both countries' commitment to cooperation within the treaty's framework. "It shows that the IWT can't necessarily be taken for granted anymore after it has gotten caught up in wider bilateral tensions in recent years," he notes.