May 30, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17,1423

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NEW DELHI, May 29: India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged data on sharing of water of six rivers under the Indus Water Treaty on the first day of their three-day annual meeting here.

“Data relating to various technical aspects of the Treaty under which waters of six rivers are being shared between India and Pakistan were exchanged between the parties,” sources in the Water Resources Ministry told APP.

The Commissioner level meeting, which lasted nearly three-hours, was “routine” in nature as such meetings are held every year alternatively in India and Pakistan, they said.

Being an upper riparian state of the rivers Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, India was fully aware of its obligations under the treaty, the sources said.

The treaty, which came into effect retrospectively from April 1, 1960, envisages that waters of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi would be utilised by India while those of Indus, Chenab and Jhelum by Pakistan.

Denying reports about the treaty itself being under threat due to the tension at India-Pakistan border, the Minister of State for Water Resources Bijoya Chakraborty had said “there is no question of abrogating the treaty. The present level of tension will have no bearing on the talks”.

It may be mentioned here that international treaties cannot be abrogated under Helsinki Principals. However, a section of the press carried a news item quoting some water resource ministry official that the meeting may be postponed due to present situation between the two countries. —APP