ISLAMABAD - India is not sharing daily flood data with Pakistan which is a violation of Indus Water Treaty and Islamabad will raise the issue during the upcoming Indus Water Commissioner Meeting scheduled to be held next week.

India insisting that it will share the flood data during peak flood season only which is the violation of Indus Water Treaty as the agreement provides for the sharing of data on daily/hourly basis from July 1 to October 10, official source told The Nation yesterday.

Earlier, India was sharing the flood regularly with Pakistan as per the provision of the treaty but from the last two years New Delhi is violating the Indus Water Treaty and not sharing daily flood data with Pakistan, the source said.

The meeting of the Indus Water Commissioner is scheduled on 23rd and 24th March 2021 in New Delhi where Pakistan will raise the delay in sharing of flood data, the source said. The Indus Water Commissioner meeting is taking place after the delay of two and a half years.

Commission is required to meet regularly (at least once a year) to review implementation of Treaty

A flood cell is established in Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters each year in the monsoon season which works round the clock from 1st July to 10th October to receive and disseminate flood information to the user agencies in Pakistan. Under the agreement reached between Commissioners of the two countries, advance information about flood/base flows in respect of the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers, is obtained through telephone from India on daily/hourly basis and passed on to the Federal Flood Commission, Flood Forecasting Division and Warning Centre, Lahore, Punjab irrigation department and other user agencies/stakeholders.

It is worth to mention here that in August 2020, Pakistan had rejected India’s proposal for holding the virtual meeting of Permanent Indus Commission saying the meeting should be physical. The meeting of the Water Commission was due in March 2020 but was postponed in view of Corona pandemic.

The Permanent Indus Commission is required to meet regularly (at least once a year) to review implementation of the Treaty and to make every effort to settle any question arising between the parties. The major functions of the Commission are to establish and maintain a co-operative arrangement for the implementation of the Treaty and to promote co-operation between the parties in the development of the waters of the rivers.

Under the treaty, the Commission will meet regularly (at least once a year) to review implementation of the Treaty. The commission works to make effort to settle any question arising between both the countries, to undertake tours of inspection of the rivers to ascertain facts, exchange of daily gauge and discharge data of the rivers and supply of advance flood information.