Pakistan, India to discuss Water Dispute for first time since 1998
Pakistan Times Federal Bureau Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India will resume talks for the first time in six years this week over a 19-year water dispute as nascent dialogue between the traditional foes inches forward.

Officials from both sides will begin a two-day meeting in Islamabad today, Thursday, a day later than originally scheduled, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

"The talks will now be held on July 29-30," a senior foreign ministry official told a foreign news agency.

The Indian delegation, led by the secretary of the water resources minister, V.K. Duggal is to partake in the parleys.

Objectives

The talks are aimed at resolving differences over construction of a barrage begun by India in 1985 over the Jhelum river, which starts in India held-terrain but feeds Pakistan.

The water talks are part of the ongoing peace process started by the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals early this year.

Part of Composite Dialogue

Foreign Office Spokesman, Masood Khan told 'Pakistan Times' Wednesday that the two-day talks on the Wullar Barrage dispute between India and Pakistan being initiated from Thursday were part of the composite dialogue process.

The issue was among the eight point agenda which was agreed between the two countries, he said by adding that officials from both sides will participate in the
two-day meeting.

Secretary for Water and Power, Ashfaq Mehmood would lead Pakistani side while Indian side would be led by Secretary for Water Resources, V.K. Duggal.

Khan said, the issue for distribution of waters between the two countries was amicably resolved in 1960 under the Indus Basin Treaty.

The Wullar Barrage dispute is linked with the Indus Basin Agreement, he added. In 1985, he said India started construction of a dam on Indus river in occupied Kashmir.

Strong Protest

Masood Khan said, Pakistan had lodged a strong protest on the construction of the dam as it was violation of the Indus Basin Agreement between the two neighbouring countries.

Commissioners of both the countries for Indus Water have, earlier been discussing the issue.

Now, he said, all technical and non-technical aspects of the issue would be discussed in the upcoming meeting between the two countries as part of composite dialogue process.

Wullar Barrage

The Wullar Barrage, 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of India held-Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar, violates a 44-year old water sharing treaty by affecting the flow of water and threatening irrigation and power projects downstream in Pakistan.

The 1960 Indus Basin treaty speaks of water utlization of diverse rivers like Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

Pakistan has a pragmatic and logical viewpoint that by allowing India to control the flow of the Jhelum water through storage would pose a serious threat to Pakistan.

"Our contention all along has been that the Wullar Barrage would negatively impact downstream irrigation, power generation and other water projects," said the news agency quoting official sources.

Pakistan's Standpoint

Pakistan wants India to scrap the project, foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said. But India contends the barrage would help regulate the flow of flood waters.

Construction of the barrage was halted in 1987 following protests by Pakistan.

"The talks are resuming after six years," Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Water Jamat Ali Shah said.

Bagliar Dam

Another dam on the Chenab river is also being challenged by Pakistan.

Islamabad says construction of the Bagliar dam, a 330-megawatt hydroelectric project, will affect water flows to Pakistan. The treaty forbids India from affecting the flow of the the rivers feeding Pakistan.

Both sides held talks on the Bagliar dam in June and reported progress towards an accord. The discussion on Wullar is part of the eight-point peace agenda agreed between the two governments early this year, Khan said.●