01-03-2021 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
NEWS
01-03-2021 to 15-03-2021
25
India must play pro-active
role on Indus Waters Treaty
New Delhi : The Indus
Waters Treaty (IWT) brokered
between India and Pakistan by
the World Bank in 1960 has
weathered three wars in 1965,
1971 and 1999 -- as also the
September 2016 attack by four
heavily armed terrorists that
resulted in the death of 19 soldiers
and the four attackers and
was "the deadliest attack on
security forces in Kashmir in
two decades".
The IWT will continue to
"chug along" and the "best
option for India, which the current
government is following
after mulling the option of
abrogation, is to optimise/maximise
the provisions of the
Treaty," Uttam Kumar Sinha,
one of India's leading commentators
on trans-boundary water
issues, told IANS in an interview
on his new book," Indus
Basin Uninterrupted -- A
History of Territory & Politics
from Alexander to Nehru"
(Penguin Vintage).
"There is no advantage for
India to abrogate the Treaty.
Water will continue to flow
irrespective unless structures
are constructed on the rivers
that store the water and that
will take several decades," he
adds.
"Technically, the IWT has
no exit clause, so there is no
question of 'renegotiations'.
However, Article XII (3) and
(4) of the Treaty provide for
modification of treaty provisions
BUT through a "duly ratified
treaty" which will replace
the present one with the condition
that cannot be abrogated
unilaterally.
"Politically this is difficult to
achieve. Pakistan knows very
well that the Treaty of 1960 is
as good as it can get and any
�modified' treaty will only
harm its interest. It will continue
to make noises (both domestically
and internationally)
about India's hegemonic
motives to keep the anti-India
feeling alive," Sinha maintains,
adding that the Treaty and its
provisions "not only gives
Pakistan the water it requires
but on account of being a lower
riparian vis-a-vis India, it
builds a global sympathy as a
victim of India's hydro-aggression".
At the same time, India
needs to take corrective measures,
he said.
"On the eastern rivers much
of the waters in non-monsoon
period (about 0.58 MAF) flow
freely into Pakistan. This has to
Chinese mainland reports 6
new imported Covid cases
Beijing : The Chinese mainland
reported six new imported Covid-
19 cases on Saturday, bringing the
total number of imported cases to
4,990, the National Health
Commission said in its daily report
om Sunday.
Of the new imported cases, two
each were reported in Fujian and
Yunnan, and one each in Tianjin
and Guangdong, Xinhua news
agency reported citing the Health Commission.
Among all the imported cases, 4,828 had been discharged from hospitals
after recovery while 162 remained hospitalised, the commission said.
No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.
be arrested and for that the
three projects Ujh (storage of
0.82 MAF) and Shahpurkandi
Dam (0.012 MAF) and second
Ravi Vyas Link Project have
been put into fast track.
"On the western rivers the
'permissible storage capacity'
as per the Treaty provisions has
not been paid serious attention
in India. This again has to be
seriously corrected," Sinha
writes.
Noting that the current government
"has put many projects
on the Chenab river like the
Bursar and Gypsa on fast
track," he contends that "many
more projects would be
required to fulfil the provision
of 2.7 MAF of storage water on
the western rivers".
"But most importantly, India
has to build widespread awareness
about Pakistan's strategy
to stall or delay multi-purpose
projects among the people of
Jammu and Kashmir and harness
the displeasure of the local
political leadership about the
provisions of IWT. At the end
of the day water is equally
about perception," Sinha
explains.
The framers of the Treaty
had foreseen that differences
and disputes will emerge, he
says, adding that "the beauty of
the Treaty lies in the
'Settlement mechanism' within
the Treaty (vide Article IX and
attendant Annexures F and G)
in three different ways."
"Resolution of any differences
through (i) mutual consultations
in the Permanent
Indus Water Commission
established under the Treaty;
(ii) through a Neutral Expert
acceptable to both or appointed
by the World Bank in case of
disagreement, and (iii) resolution
of any 'dispute' by a Court
of Arbitration," Sinha writes,
accusing Pakistan of using
"these provisions on numerous
occasions to obstruct many
projects being planned by
India, well within the treaty
provisions".
Beginning with "Ageing of
India's History, the 353-page
book, in five parts, with an easy
narration and rich archival
material, brings alive a meandering
5,000-year journey of
peace, conflict and commerce
on the Indus basin, exploring
"Diplomacy and Commerce on
the Indus", "Colonisation,
Canals and Contestation",
"Partition of Land and Rivers"
and finally, "The Making of the
Indus Waters Treaty".
Continue Page 24
Huawei aims to make electric...
Huawei is also in discussions with Beijing-backed
BAIC Group's BluePark New Energy Technology to
manufacture its EVs.
In addition, another Chinese tech company
Xiaomi is also planning to build its own car and is
considering it as a strategic decision, but specific
details and the path it aims to take are yet to be determined.
As far as project leadership is concerned,
Xiaomi's current CEO, Lei Jun, will be directly heading
it. Back in 2013, Lei Jun had visited the US twice
to meet with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and now it seems
that its interest on the field has grown.
The Indian market has also seen a demand for
smart vehicles, and auto companies like Tata,
Mahindra and others are offering their electric vehicles.
Along the way, from
Alexander's campaign to
Mohammad-bin-Qasim crossing
the Indus and laying the
foundation of Muslim rule in
India; from the foreign invades
and their 'loot and scoot' to the
Mughal rulers' perspective on
hydrology and water use; from
the British 'great game' on the
Indus basin to the bitter and
bloody Partition; and finally, as
a historical pause, the signing
of the IWT, this book is a spectrum
of spectacular events,
turning points, and of personalities
and characters and their
actions that were full of marvel.
As the author notes in the
Preface, "it is a frightening
acknowledgement that the
Indus basin, with its richness
and impetuosity, can be so allpervasive,
defining history,
ordering territories, attracting
invaders and in many senses,
determining the way of life and
the politics around it. Much, of
course is known of this vast
basin, yet much is unknown . It
is time, perhaps, as we mark
sixty years of the Indus Water
Treaty, 'to talk of many things'
Continue Page 1
as the Walrus said to the
Carptner in Lewis Carrol's
"Through a Looking Glass'"
and this the book does in abundant
measure. After a brief stint
in the print media and doctoral
degree from Jawaharlal Nehru
University, he joined the
Institute of Defence Studies
and Analyses (now renamed
the Manohar Parrikar-IDSA)
where he heads the non-territorial
security centre and is the
Managing Editor of "Strategic
Analysis" the institute's flagship
journal.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be
reached
at
vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)
India reports highest new daily Covid...
The Ministry also informed that 7,95,723 samples were tested
on Saturday. The cumulative tests done by Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) so far stands at 21,62,31,106.
So far, 1,43,01,266 doses of corona vaccine have been administered
in the country since the drive began on January 16 after
approval for 'Covishield' and 'Covaxin'.
As per the Union Health Ministry, India has become the fastest
nation in terms of the vaccine doses administered, even though
many countries had launched their vaccination campaigns much
earlier. The third phase of vaccination against Covid-19 pandemic
will begin from March 1 and will cover 27 crore of people above
60 and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities at 10,000
government and over 20,000 private vaccination centres. While
people will be vaccinated free of cost at government hospitals,
those taking the shots at private hospitals will have to pay.
Continue Page 1
Global Covid-19 cases top 113 million...
The other countries with more than a million confirmed coronavirus
cases are Brazil (10,517,232), Russia (4,187,166), the UK
(4,182,772), France (3,747,263), Spain (3,188,553), Italy
(2,907,825), Turkey (2,693,164), Germany (2,444,177), Colombia
(2,248,135), Argentina (2,104,197), Mexico (2,076,882), Poland
(1,696,885), Iran (1,623,159), South Africa (1,512,225), Ukraine
(1,389,570), Indonesia (1,329,074), Peru (1,316,363), Czech
Republic (1,227,595) and The Netherlands (1,098,875), the CSSE
figures showed.
Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of
Covid-19 fatalities at 254,221, followed by Mexico 184,474 on the
third place and India 156,938 on the fourth.
Meanwhile, the nations with a death toll above 20,000 are the
UK (122,939), Italy (97,507), France (85,741), Russia (84,330),
Germany (70,019), Spain (69,142), Iran (59,980), Colombia
(59,660), Argentina (51,946), South Africa (49,941), Peru
(46,094), Poland (43,656), Indonesia (35,981), Turkey (28,503),
Ukraine (27,306), Belgium (22,052), Canada (21,961), Chile
(20,476), Romania (20,287) and Czech Republic (20,194).