Pakistan and India are set to meet on September 10-11 in The Hague at the neutral expert forum to address disputes over the designs of India’s Kishenganga (330 MW) and Ratle (850 MW) hydropower projects. These projects, built on Pakistan's rivers Jhelum and Chenab, have heightened tensions due to concerns about water flow impacts.

Pakistan, led by Federal Secretary of Water Resources Syed Ali Murtaza, has raised objections to the designs. It argues that the Kishenganga project’s pondage of 7.5 million cubic metres should be reduced to 1 million cubic metres and seeks modifications to the intake and spillways. For the Ratle project, Pakistan wants the pondage reduced from 24 million cubic metres to 8 million, among other design changes.

Pakistan prefers the case to be decided by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which India boycotts, favoring a neutral expert instead. The PCA, however, ruled in July 2023 that it has jurisdiction over the case, rejecting India’s objections. Pakistan argues that the Ratle project in its current form could harm water flow in the Chenab River, affecting irrigation in Punjab.

The World Bank has constituted both the PCA and neutral expert to handle the dispute under the Indus Waters Treaty.