Pakistan building sea fence in its water body at cost of ₹1,300 cr

Everything You Need To Know About The Dispute Over Sir Creek Between India And Pakistan

With Pakistan once again openly coaxing the separatist movement in Kashmir and India returning the favour when PM Modi talked about Pakistan's atrocities in Balochistan, the two countries seem to be at their perennial best in terms of hitting at each other. But Kashmir and Siachen aren't the only issues the two nuclear powers of South Asia lock horns. Sir Creek is another major issue that's been waiting for a resolution for over 70 years now. 

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Here is all you need to know about the dispute of Sir Creek between Pakistan and India.

What is Sir Creek?

Sir Creek is a 96-km strip of water disputed between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands. Originally named Ban Ganga, Sir Creek is named after a British representative. The Creek opens up in the Arabian Sea and roughly divides the Kutch region of Gujarat from the Sindh Province of Pakistan.

What's the dispute?

The dispute lies in the interpretation of the maritime boundary line between Kutch and Sindh. Before India's independence, the provincial region was a part of the Bombay Presidency of British India. But after India's independence in 1947, Sindh became a part of Pakistan while Kutch remained a part of India.

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Pakistan claims the entire creek as per paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Bombay Government Resolution of 1914 signed between then the Government of Sindh and Rao Maharaj of Kutch. The resolution, which demarcated the boundaries between the two territories, included the creek as part of Sindh, thus setting the boundary as the eastern flank of the creek popularly known as Green Line. But India claims that the boundary lies mid-channel as depicted in another map drawn in 1925, and implemented by the installation of mid-channel pillars back in 1924.

The Genesis 

The marshland of Sir Creek first became disputed in the early 20th century when the Rao of Kutch and the Chief Commissioner of Sindh Province of British India, due to different perceptions of the boundaries, laid claims over the creek. The case was taken up by then Government of Bombay, which conducted a survey and mandated its verdict in 1914. This verdict has two contradictory paragraphs, which make the India and Pakistan contenders on the same issue. Paragraph 9 of this verdict states that the boundary between Kutch and Sindh lies ‘to the east of the Creek,’ (Green Line) which effectively implied that the creek belonged to Sindh and, therefore, to Pakistan.