New Delhi, June 25 -- India has formally requested a pause in proceedings related to disputes over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects, as it seeks to take control over its western river systems under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), officials on Tuesday said.

The government has, in a letter addressed to World Bank-appointed neutral expert Michel Lino, called for the suspension of the agreed work programme that outlines Pakistan's written submissions by August and joint discussions scheduled for November.

After the Pahalgam attack, India kept the IWT in abeyance "until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism". Under the IWT, the waters of the "Eastern Rivers" - Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi - ar...