Signed in 1960 under the World Bank’s auspices, the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) remains one of the world’s most enduring frameworks for transboundary water governance. It allocates the eastern rivers—Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—to India, while granting Pakistan control over the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. Within certain limits, India may also use the western rivers for non-consumptive purposes like hydropower generation.

India has steadily pursued this allowance, commissioning ten hydropower projects on the western rivers with a combined capacity of 3,360 MW. Five more large-scale projects—totalling 3,052 MW—are under construction. However, these developments have repeatedly drawn Pakistani objections for allegedly violating the treaty’s design criteria, notably in the Ratle (850 MW) and Kishanganga (330 MW) projects. Despite the protests, India has pressed on, asserting its hydropower rights in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region. India’s hydropower ambitions in the Himalayas have faced immense challenges. The Dul Hasti project (390 MW) took 22 years to complete, while the Kishanganga project took 11 years and cost $864 million—about $2.6 million per megawatt, one of the highest globally. Delays, cost overruns, fragile Himalayan geology, environmental concerns, and community resistance have plagued many such ventures.

Israel’s attack on Iran serious violation of........

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