'We Have No Role To Play...': World Bank Chief Ajay Banga On India-Pakistan’s Indus Waters Treaty
Firmly delineating the World Bank's involvement, Ajay Banga explained, "The World Bank's role is basically that of a facilitator if they disagree."
Days after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in a strong diplomatic action against Pakistan following the terror attack in Pahalgam, World Bank President Ajay Banga clarified the institution’s position, emphasizing that the Bank is not an arbitrator and will not intervene in any dispute between the two nations concerning the treaty.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC-TV18, Ajay Banga stated, “No, the treaty is not suspended. It’s technically called something in abeyance, is how the Indian government worded it."
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Underscoring that the original framework of the Indus Waters Treaty lacks any clause for suspension, he said, “The way it was drawn up, it either needs to be gone or it needs to be replaced by another one. That requires the two countries to want to agree."
Firmly delineating the World Bank’s involvement, Ajay Banga explained, “The World Bank’s role is basically that of a facilitator if they disagree — not by us making a decision — but by us being the party that goes through a process to find a neutral expert or an arbitrator court to settle it."
He further elaborated that the World Bank’s role is primarily administrative and financial, recalling the establishment of a trust fund during the treaty’s inception to cover the fees of potential arbitrators.
“That’s our role. We have no role to play beyond that," Ajay Banga asserted, adding that the World Bank has not yet received any communication from either India or Pakistan regarding the Indus Waters Treaty.
Dismissing media speculation about the World Bank’s potential intervention, Ajay Banga declared, “It’s all bunk because we don’t have that role to play… The treaty is a treaty between two sovereign nations and they have to decide whether that’s what they want to continue with. It’s their decision."
While acknowledging the Indus Waters Treaty’s “ups and downs" over its six-decade history, Ajay Banga reiterated that any modifications or continuation of the treaty remains a sovereign decision for India and Pakistan.
He said, “The World Bank’s role is what the World Bank’s role is as defined in the treaty — no more and no less."
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