The World Bank, which is holding talks with a Pakistani delegation regarding the water dispute with India, has said that they are seeking an amicable solution, said a report in the Dawn.
A Pakistani delegation, headed by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali, arrived in Washington on Sunday, a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kishanganga Dam, which Pakistan fears will reduce its share in the waters of the Indus and its tributaries.
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The Indus system of rivers comprises three western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — and three eastern rivers — the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi. The controversial Kishanganga dam is built on the Neelum river, which is a tributary of the Jhelum river.
“Senior World Bank officials are meeting on Monday and Tuesday with a Pakistan delegation at their request to discuss issues concerning the Indus Waters Treaty,” a World Bank spokesperson, Elena Karaban, told Dawn.
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Recently, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Pakistan’s envoy in Washington, at a news conference on Saturday said the water dispute was “hugely important for us as we are an agricultural country and water is our lifeline”.
He added: “As a lower riparian country, we have the right to have unfettered access to the water that flows into Pakistan from the upper riparian areas.”
Islamabad argues that the dam violates the conditions that the treaty places on the construction of a structure that can hinder the flow of a river. The treaty, which distributes the water of the six Indus valley rivers between India and Pakistan, fixes the height and the storage capacity for all such dams.
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Pakistan says that the Kishanganga dam is higher than the suggested height and has a wider pondage area than stipulated in the treaty. India on the other hand says that it had corrected both about two years ago, when Pakistan first raised the objections.
Islamabad rejects the Indian claim, saying that the dam inaugurated on Saturday “still violates the suggested conditions and is against the spirit of the treaty”.
