No role beyond a facilitator: World Bank's Ajay Banga on IWT suspension

On April 25, a day after India held the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, Pakistan announced its intention of reaching the World Bank, seeking intervention

World Bank President Ajay Banga refuted reports suggesting that the World Bank may intervene and compel India to overturn its decision of holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

 

Press Information Bureau (PIB) quoted Ajay Banga on X saying, “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.” 

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  -World Bank President, Ajay Banga on #IndusWaterTreaty Suspension… pic.twitter.com/6bbiZpKf0o

— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 9, 2025

 

 

On April 25, a day after India held the treaty in abeyance, Pakistan announced its intention of reaching the World Bank, seeking intervention. Rejecting the suspension as “unilateral and illegal”, Islamabad’s foreign office added that any attempt to curb Pakistan's water share would be deemed an “act of war”.

 

The statement serves as a setback to Pakistan as tensions between the two nations escalated following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, after which the two nuclear-armed neighbours downgraded their diplomatic ties and India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

 

What is the Indus Waters Treaty

 

The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 is a water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan, signed on September 19, 1960, in Karachi. The deal was brokered by the World Bank after nine years of negotiations. 

Earlier on May 4, India curtailed the flow of water through the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab and is planning similar measures on the Kishanganga Dam along the Jhelum.

 

Pahalgam terror attack

 

The attack took place in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley when 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists. Following this, India retaliated and announced a series of punitive measures, including the shutdown of the Attari border. The government also cancelled visas for Pakistani nationals under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme.

 

The government also blocked over 15 Pakistani YouTube channels and Instagram accounts of several Pakistani celebrities, including Hania Amir and Mahira Khan. 

After the ties were downgraded between the two countries, India retaliated and launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 and targeted terrorist infrastructure at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). After the missile strikes, Pakistan resorted to heavy shelling, resulting in the death of at least 16 civilians.