24 April 2004	Saturday	03 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, April 23: Kashmir is of fundamental importance to the peace process and the long-lasting peace is not possible in the region unless the issue is settled.

This was stated by the Federal Minister for Water & Power, Kana and Safron, Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, during a meeting with the British High Commissioner to India, Sir Michael Arthur, and the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Mark Ryall Grant, here on Friday.

The two diplomats discussed a wide range of matters with the minister and appreciated the peace initiatives by the Pakistani government and said these confidence-building measures would lead to establishment of long lasting peace and stability in the region.

The minister said the whole peace process depended on it and this was the reason that the Indian government recognized the core importance of the issue and it was included in the Islamabad Declaration.

The minister said the peace process between Pakistan and India must continue, as it would lead to resolution of issues and establishment of sustainable peace in the region.

The minister also mentioned the idea of establishing a combined Saarc electricity grid. He said the government was encouraging run of the river hydroelectric projects in AJK that would produce cheap hydroelectric power.

He said the water needed of the country were increasing and the government felt the urgent need of construction of water reservoirs for the conservation of water. But, he added, any decision in this regard would be taken only after building up of consensus by the political and technical committees, working on these lines.

He added that before the construction of a major reservoir, the government's focus is on improving the existing water distribution system. "We are lining the water courses and introducing on-farm management of water. Only lining of water courses alone would save 5 million acre feet of water, which is equal to the storage capacity of a major water reservoir", the minister added.

Meanwhile, the minister said the role of IRSA was very important in the context of provincial harmony and the government was focusing on improving its role by providing better equipment and staff and enhancing the operational fund and equipment allocation. He expressed these views during his visit to the Headquarters of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) here.

The minister said the role of IRSA in confidence building between the provinces was of crucial importance for the provinces and the country. This is the reason that the government has invested in installation of expensive telemetry system on the rivers, canals and barrages so that every province or individual can observe the transparency of the system, he added.

He said the technical aspect of installation of telemetry system had been completed and hoped that IRSA would soon take over the system form Wapda. He said the necessary funds had been allocated to IRSA for operating and maintaining the system. The minister also promised to visit some of the telemetry stations in the near future.

Earlier the minister was briefed in detail about the working of IRSA, the telemetry system and the present system of water data collection and dissemination by IRSA.

He was told that telemetry system has been installed at 23 sites in the country including main canals headwords, rivers and barrages. 8 monitoring stations have been established in the country including all the provincial capitals to provide access to the data.

Later, the minister visited the Telemetry Monitoring Control Room where all the data from the telemetry stations would be received, processed and disseminated. The data is also posted on IRSA's website i.e. http://www.irsa.gov.pk.