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A Familiar Dispute in the Indus River Valley

Jan 12, 2017 | 09:15 GMT

A Familiar Dispute in the Indus River Valley
Though tension over the contested region of Kashmir has fueled the disagreement in recent months, India and Pakistan's dispute over control of the waters of the Indus River Basin is nothing new.

(JOONAS LYYTINEN/Wikimedia)

Summary

For centuries, control of the Indus River Basin's waters has been a point of contention among the region's inhabitants. Since 1960, the Indus Waters Treaty has governed use of the region's water between India and Pakistan. But late in 2016, a flare-up between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region cast renewed doubt on the pact. India even threatened to pull out of the treaty in the war of words that ensued. Even so, the agreement was never in any real danger. As it has throughout history, the Indus River Basin will continue to fuel intermittent disputes between the countries that depend on its waters, disagreements that Islamabad and New Delhi will use to advance their political aims in the coming year.

For centuries, the waters of the Indus River basin have been a point of contention for the region's inhabitants. The Indus Waters Treaty has governed use of the waters between India and Pakistan since 1960. But in the fall of 2016 a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region cast renewed doubt on the pact. India even threatened to pull out of the treaty in the war of words that ensued between New Delhi and Islamabad. Even so, the agreement was never in any real danger. As it has throughout history, the Indus River basin will continue to fuel intermittent disputes between the countries that depend on its waters, disagreements that Islamabad and New Delhi will use to advance their political aims in the coming year....

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