Pakistan, India planning to convene meeting using alternative means.

Byline: Fawad Yousafzai

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan and India are planning to convene the annual meeting of Permanent Indus Commission in the COVID-19 situation using alternative means.

The meeting of the Water Commission was due in March but was postponed due to emergency situation due to COVID-19, official source told The Nation here Thursday.

It was mutually agreed that the meeting scheduled for March 2020 be postponed and now it has been decided to convene the meeting through alternative means, the source said. India has shown its readiness to convene the meeting using alternative means, the source added. However, it has yet to be decided what online resource should be utilized for interaction between both the commissioners. The source said that during the meeting, Pakistan will demand India for sharing flood data on daily basis.

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The Treaty is being implemented through Permanent Indus Commission. The two Commissioners from both sides (Pakistan and India) together form the Permanent Indus Commission. Each Commissioner, unless either government decides to take up any particular question directly with the other government, is the representative of his government for all matters arising out of the Treaty, and serves as the regular channel of communication on all matters relating to the implementation of the Treaty.

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 promptly 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...