NEW DELHI, June 29: Pakistan and India on Wednesday agreed to continue discussions on Wullar barrage to resolve the issue in accordance with the Indus Water Treaty.
The Pakistani side was led by Water and Power Secretary Ashfaq Mehmood who led a seven-member delegation at the two-day talks. The Indian delegation was headed by Water Resources Secretary J. Hari Narayan.
Briefing newsmen at the conclusion of the talks, Director- General, South Asia, Foreign Ministry, and member of the Pakistani delegation Jalil Abbas Jilani said that the talks were held in a cordial and frank atmosphere.
Articulating Islamabad’s position on the issue, Mr Mehmood said at the talks that the storage of water was not allowed under the treaty, Mr Jilani said.
“The barrage, Mr Mehmood explained, envisaged 32 times more storage capacity against 0.1 million acre feet storage permitted under the treaty.
“Mr Mehmood further told the Indian side that no man-made construction was allowed on the main River Jhelum. The project would cause interference in the flow of water, which was not permitted under the treaty.”
The treaty called for uninterrupted flow of water to Pakistan, Mr Jilani said and added that the Indian claim that it was a navigational project had not been substantiated.
Answering a question, he said that Pakistan and India had not arrived at any accord in 1991, allowing New Delhi to start construction work on the project.
Pakistan had handed over a non-paper to India in February 1994 and made it clear that there could be no agreement with India, allowing her to start construction work on the project, he said.
Several legal and technical issues were still to be resolved and without their resolution, India could not start work on the project, Mr Jilani said.—APP
