Some analysts say the Indus Water Treaty only has a couple years of life left in its existence.

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Officials from New Delhi and Islamabad concluded their two-day meeting session of the Indus Water Commission Tuesday, a re-installment of the annual tradition after Indian officials cancelled last year’s meetings in the wake of the Uri attacks.

While the Indus Water Treaty is publicly observed as one of the world’s most successful international pacts — it has survived three major world conflicts and the numerous twists and turns of the India-Pakistan relationship — the treaty’s future however, looks as bleak as ever because of the water shortages on both sides.

Tensions between the two nations extend beyond the almost-perpetual conflict at the Kashmir border, India and Pakistan have also had more than one heated exchange over water. Islamabad has regularly accused New Delhi of not fulfilling the obligations of the Indus Water Treaty, and regards India’s decision to build two major hydroelectric power stations, the 330-megawatt Kishanganga project and the 850-megawatt Ralte plant in Jammu as breaching the Indus protocol.

Islamabad has, in the past, announced their desire to take India before an international court over the development of the power stations.

India has maintained that run-of-the-river dams are allowed by international law. According to the treaty, technical objections by either nation are required to be addressed by a neutral expert if an agreement can’t be reached bilaterally. The only instance where a court of arbitration can be employed is in the event there is a dispute in interpretation of the treaty.

The World Bank was instrumental in the negotiations and is a guarantor of the Indus Water Treaty, which was signed in 1960 between Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ayub Khan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern rivers of the Indus basin — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej— while Pakistan has the three western rivers— the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum.

Since the treaty’s ratification in 1960, India and Pakistan have had no water wars. However, analysts and experts have acknowledged the need to update specific technical elements and to expand the treaty’s scope to include climate change. In reality, per the current provisions of the treaty, India are only allotted 20 percent of the total water carried by the Indus River.

Some in India believe former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru might have been a bit too generous with Pakistan’s allowance, they want New Delhi to redress the issue.

Islamabad once officially observed this as an act of war, and the problems can only get worse as India considers more run-of-the-river projects along the Brahmaputra. Pakistani officials have cited concerns over the designs of the 1,000-megawatt Pakal Dul on the Chenab, the 43-megawatt Lower Kalnai on another tributary of the Chenab, and 120-megawatt Miyar hydroelectric plant, also on the Chenab.