India can’t skip WB-mediated process on water issue

LAHORE: India can never skip the proposed World Bank-mediated negotiation process as such parleys are very much part and parcel of mechanism defined under the Indus Waters Treaty, said a senior official on Thursday.

The notion given by India through media leaks during last couple of days that only bilateral talks are possible for discussing Pakistan’s objections over Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects being built in Indian Held Kashmir, and a meeting being hosted by World Bank on April 11 would not be attended is factually not correct, an official of Ministry of Water & Power said.

India is wary of any trilateral discussion on different subjects with Pakistan, particularly on Kashmir and water issues. Despite such obvious insistence, India had filed an application last year with the World Bank to appoint a Neutral Expert for solving dispute with Pakistan over Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects.

Before this move, Pakistan did file its case with the World Bank for setting up Court of Arbitration for the same purposes under the provision of Indus Waters Treaty, the official said, adding India wanted to nullify Pakistan’s case by asserting different type of dispute resolution mechanism.

The next month meeting was convened by the World Bank to find headway about the future course of action regarding mechanism of dispute resolution, the official said. Hence, this meeting is part of a serial of trilateral negotiation process.

Commenting on Indian media’s reports in which India vehemently denying participation in the World Bank mediated negotiation, he said it may be an official line given to the media as part of a tactic before entering into negotiations. It is very much similar to past Indian tactics, official observed.

As India had to abandon their earlier propaganda line of successive suspension of meetings of the Permanent Indus Waters Commission (PIWC) and inspection tours, they would ultimately abandon their latest posture as well, he opined.

Talking about the April 11 meeting, a senior official said let the Indians retract from the line they had expressed through media. “I expect the meeting would certainly happen, though there could be some delay. We had already opposed Indian effort of discussing objections on Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects in the recent meeting of Indus Commission as both the countries already exhausted this option,” he added.

Pakistan’s latest response was over New Delhi notion that World Bank’s proposal of a secretary level meeting in Washington next month was against the spirit of the pact.

India reportedly believes that there is no need to look for another mechanism to break the deadlock since the treaty already had a dispute resolution system built in it.

Contrary to this, Pakistan expressed the opinion that such system was already exercised by the both countries on contentious issue of Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects.