October 24, 2003	Friday	Sha’aban 27, 1424

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NEW DELHI, Oct 23: Pakistan’s three-member Indus Water Delegation left for home via Wagah border on Thursday after inspecting the controversial Baglihar hydel project in the occupied Kashmir.

Upon concluding the on-site inspection, Indus Water Commissioner Syed Jamait Ali Shah said that a comprehensive report on the project would be submitted to the Pakistan government.

The delegation, which arrived here on Oct 19, had left for the Indian held Kashmir on Monday to inspect the project being constructed on the river Chenab.

Besides the dam sites, the team accompanied by the central government officials, visited three major construction sites and assessed the water flow at the Chanderkote project site.

The Pakistan team also held detailed discussions with the officials of Union Ministry of Water Resources, NHPC and Jammu Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) over the issue. Important aspects relating to the water flow level under the Baglihar project were explained on the occasion.

The Pakistan team comprised Syed Jamait Ali Shah, Azhar-ul-Haq and Waris Ahmed. The Indus Water Commissioner had told reporters at the Chanderkote project site that they had come to inspect the project “as we had objections to it.”

“Now we have completed our work and will submit a full report over the project to our government in Pakistan,” he was quoted to have said.

Earlier, during a meeting held in last May, the Commissioner had asked his Indian counterpart to arrange a visit of the project which, he said, was in violation of the parameters of the Indus Water Treaty. —APP