Indus Basin Dispute Resolution and Impact on Foreign Relations: A Professional Analysis

The Indus basin dispute over the water was rooted in Punjab's division. The dispute began on April 1, 1948, when East Punjab in India discontinued the flow of cannel waters into West Punjab, which became a massive threat to the absence and the loss of crops within West Punjab. West Punjab is a productive area, but its climate is hot and dry. The rainfall needs to be more and more and a lack of reliability. The primary source of Pakistan's economy is agriculture, which relies on irrigation via canals that flow by the Indus River and its five tributaries. The three western rivers, the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab, can enter as well as three Eastern rivers, the Ravi and the Beas and the Sutlej, enter Pakistan through India. In reality, the Indus rivers are the primary source of existence in West Punjab, which provides water for more than 26 million acres. The agriculture of Pakistan is dependent on the water supply. However, India has a lot of rivers that flow into the sea with no problem, and the amount of rainfall is enough to sustain agriculture without irrigation.

Partition altered the entire subcontinent's layout and led to several issues and conflicts concerning the water supply of the Indus Basin. After 1947, Pakistan became a nation, and the province of Punjab was split into two parts: India in the first and Pakistan. The first result of the division was the Indus Basin division, and conflict ensued between the two nations. Furthermore, the head works located at Madhupur on Ravi and Ferozpur in the Sutlej were part of India; however, many of the canals cut away from them were used to water the land used for agriculture in Punjab. Pakistan considered it highly harmful to its economy since India can stop water anytime, and its agriculture could be affected.

To address the financial problems, Pakistan bought the water it needed from India. Several official committees were created to address the issues caused by splitting Punjab. The issue of sharing waters between India and Pakistan was brought to the B committee. The committee was unanimous in its decision to not raise the issue of altering the approved share of water that the two zones as well as the canals in the various zones are permitted. This is why the issue was not sent to an arbitral tribunal that was chosen to settle the conflict between India and Pakistan resulting from the partition. The tribunal's existence ended on March 31 1948. After that, India assumed control over the headworks, preventing water from flowing through every canal entering Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan could not complain to the committee. Pakistan was very concerned regarding the circumstances. The population of Pakistan were critical of the decision, and the incident was brought under international scrutiny. A delegation was sent to New Delhi for negotiation on water disputes by Pakistan. Through the inter-dominion conference held in New Delhi in May 1948, a new deal was signed titled"the Delhi deal on May 4 1948. The East and West Punjab agreement recognized their requirement to address the issue with cooperation and alliance. Interdominion conferences resolve some of the issues. Pakistan determined that the issue be referred to the international court, either for instance, the justice court or UN Security Council. In dispute resolution, India refused to involve any third-world nation and stated that an agreement between the two countries should be made to last forever. In the present, David Lilienthal, former chairman of the Tennessee Valley, visited the basin region and urged the World Bank to demonstrate its involvement in conflicts with India and Pakistan. However, India opposed the involvement of the World Bank but continued its negotiations with reservations. After eight months, the treaty was signed on September 19 1960. It was referred to as Indus Basin Water Traity. President Ayub Khan represented Pakistan in the treaty, while prime minister Pundit Jawahir Lal Nehru was the representative of India. As per the agreement, Pakistan got exclusive rights to three western rivers, the Jhelum and the Chenab and the Indus and India received three of its eastern rivers: the Beas, The Sutlej and the Ravi. To utilize the waters of these rivers, Two Dams, five barrages, two dams and seven canals were constructed. The construction cost was to be covered by India, and the rest was to be borne by Pakistan. This treaty was considered to be a "well done" treaty. Both nations interpreted it differently.

In conclusion, the plan for India was only sometimes for Pakistan. They tried to take advantage of Pakistan and destroy its economy using various tools, including the issue of water. It was also a result of Pakistan's intimidation, as the water supply rivers of the Indus Basin were part of India. By signing this agreement, Pakistan overcame its irrigation problems significantly. In addition, Pakistan's foreign policy Pakistan has also been affected, and we need to stabilize our relationships with third-world countries because of the repercussions caused by India.