A Familiar Dispute in the Indus River Valley

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....