Indus water row: India, Pakistan meet in Vienna to resolve dispute over hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir

Indus water row: India participated in a two-day meeting held in Vienna, convened by a neutral expert, as part of the ongoing efforts to address a dispute with Pakistan regarding the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve represented India as the lead counsel in this matter. The Ministry of External Affairs in a press release stated, "A delegation from India, led by Secretary, Department of Water Resources, attended a meeting of the neutral expert proceedings in the Kishenganga and Ratle matter at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Vienna on September 20 and 21."

Official Spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi tweeted in a post on X (formerly twitter), " Meeting of Neutral Expert proceedings on the Indus Waters Treaty" along with a copy of press release by Ministry of External Affairs.

The MEA statement further added, "India's participation in this meeting is in line with India's consistent, principled stand that as per the graded mechanism provided for in the Indus Waters Treaty, the neutral expert proceedings are the only valid proceedings at this juncture."

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The meeting was called together by the neutral expert, who was appointed at India's request under the framework of the Indus Waters Treaty, the MEA said. Representatives from both India and Pakistan participated in this meeting.

India chose not to participate in parallel proceedings initiated by an illegitimately constituted Court of Arbitration, which pertained to the same issues concerning the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, the MEA said.

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The MEA clarified that the neutral expert proceedings are ongoing and are expected to continue for some time. India remains committed to engaging in a manner that facilitates issue resolution in accordance with the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, the MEA said.

India has refrained from cooperating with the Court of Arbitration process to address the dispute, asserting that the initiation of two concurrent processes violates the Indus Waters Treaty's prescribed three-step graded mechanism for resolving such disputes. Hence, India continues to advocate for a resolution of the dispute through the neutral expert proceedings.