Thaindian News

Islamabad, Nov 13 (IANS) Pakistan plans to propose the setting up of a court of arbitration and appointment of neutral experts over India’s Kishanganga hydropower project and the proposal would soon be sent to New Delhi, an official said.
Pakistan would soon contact India through the Foreign Office for the establishment of the two forums as part of the second leg of efforts to resolve the issue, Pakistan Indus Water Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah told Daily Times Thursday.

The establishment of a court for arbitration and the appointment of neutral experts would be proposed to India, as “New Delhi had failed to satisfy Pakistan in matters related to the dispute during negotiations between the Indus water commissioners of the two countries”.

Shah denied that India had invited Pakistan for a meeting between the Indus water commissioners on the project.

He said the Indus Water Treaty provided a dispute resolution mechanism, under which Pakistan had made its best efforts to resolve the dispute over the controversial Kishanganga project.

Pakistan first raised objections to the project in 2004 and India revised the design of the dam in a bid to remove the objections.

The problem between the two countries arose when India decided to build a dam on the Kishanganga river that originates in Kashmir. The proposed site for the dam is near Kanzalwan - a town from where the river enters the Pakistan side of Kashmir.

The Indian plans include storing water and then tunnelling it to the Wular lake, where it is constructing a 800 MW power plant.

Pakistan maintains that India, under the Indus Basin Water Treaty, can store water but cannot divert it because the treaty charges it with releasing as much water downstream as it stores.

Thus, any diversion would violate the provisions of the treaty. It would also badly affect hydro power development plans (especially the Neelum-Jhelum hydro-power project) and agriculture in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

In addition to raising treaty issues, Pakistan also objected to the design of the dam and asked India to address its concerns before proceeding further.