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Kishanganga Hydro Power Project creates major disagreement between India and Pakistan – talks to continue with little hope!
Kishanganga Hydro Power Project created major disagreement and deadlock in peace talks between India and Pakistan. They agreed to disagree and continue to talk to resolve the matter. But sources tell us little hope is there of a breakthrough.
India and Pakistan on Monday failed to achieve any breakthrough after four days of hectic parleys here to resolve their differences on the Kishanganga Hydro Power Project in Jammu and Kashmir and decided to hold another round of talks on the issue later this month. "We made headway but could not make a breakthrough. It will be oury as possible", Indus Commissioner D K Mehta, who led the Indian delegation at the talks, told PTI.
Syed Jamat Ali shah, the Indus Water Commissioner who led the Pakistani side, said, "we could not arrive at a solution but both sides stressed on a resolution to the issue before February 28". Both sides exchanged records and signed minutes of the meeting after marathon talks, that began yesterday afternoon and went on till the wee hours of today, got entwined on the twin issues of plant design and inter-tributary transfer of water. Mehta said during the talks, which were extended by two days, "clarification on certain aspects of design and better understanding of each other's perception has been reached, especially on relevance of data and information sought".
Shah said at their first meeting at Lahore last November, both sides had agreed to sort out their differences within three months. Therefore it was decided to hold the talks before February 28 either in Islamabad or Lahore. Mehta said at this meeting, the agenda was to have interaction between specialists of both sides "so as to arrive at a mutually accepted design" and the two delegations "converged on six focused technical issues".
The two teams had narrowed down to six issues from the 14 identified in the last round. "We asked them to continue deliberations in the cooperative spirit envisaged in the Indus Water Treaty. We expressed readiness to consider all technical issues for amicable resolution", he said.
To a question whether Pakistan would move the World Bank for the appointment of a neutral expert as in the case of the 450 mw Baglihar Power Project on river Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani delegation leader said "we have no such intentions but the situation cannot remain in a deadlock and even India can seek the appointment of a neutral expert." On the Baglihar issue, India has taken objections to Pakistan seeking World Bank arbitration to resolve the differences between the two countries.
During the talks the Indian side sought to allay Islamabad's apprehension on the plant's design and provided "substantive response" to its concerns over the inter-tributary transfer of water which the latter claims is violation of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. Sources said India fielded legal experts at the meeting and cited other water treaties in support of its stand. New Delhi also disagrees with Islamabad's views that the plant's design with a height of 77 meters violated the accord.
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