World Bank Has 'No Role Beyond Facilitator' In Indus Waters Treaty, Says President Ajay Banga

World Bank President Ajay Banga on Friday clarified the institution’s limited involvement in the Indus Waters Treaty, highlighting that the Bank serves only as a facilitator and holds no authority to intervene or enforce resolutions. 

"We have no role to play beyond a facilitator. There’s a lot of speculation in the media about how the World Bank will step in & fix the problem but it’s all bunk. The World Bank’s role is merely as a facilitator," Banga said, addressing questions about the treaty’s status following recent developments.

His comments come in the wake of India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, a landmark agreement brokered by the World Bank in 1960, which governs water-sharing between India and Pakistan. The suspension was announced a day after a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam region, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians.

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Banga told CNBC-TV18, “No, the treaty is not suspended. It’s technically called something in abeyance, is how the Indian government worded it."

Highlighting a key limitation of the Indus Waters Treaty, World Bank President Ajay Banga noted that the agreement, as originally drafted, contains no provision for suspension. “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," he said.

Clarifying the World Bank’s position, 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."

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