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| June 27, 2006 | Tuesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1427 |
India to provide flood forecasting data
LAHORE, June 26: The two-day meeting of the Indus Waters Commission (IWC) between Pakistan and India concluded with signing record of the meeting here on Monday.
Briefing journalists after the 98th annual meeting of the commission, Pakistan’s IWC commissioner Syed Jamait Ali Shah and his Indian counterpart S. C. Gupta said they had discussed and finalised all the five agenda items of the meeting.
Mr Shah said they had discussed in detail flood arrangements and New Delhi had pledged to continue with a previous agreement regarding provision of flood forecasting data to Pakistan free of cost.
India would also improve flood arrangements and would provide flood forecasting data by telephone, instead of telegraph, which was obsolete in Pakistan, he added.
He said Pakistan would make two tours to inspect Indian sites till March 31 next.
Answering a question he said, Uri-II site was not included in the inspection tours, however, IWC commissioners could visit sites in the two countries under a special tour. Mr Shah said that under the IWC, both the countries could not construct any structure along high banks on their respective sides, but India had constructed buildings on high banks of the River Ravi in 2002.
However, India had agreed to provide information about the structures and then Pakistan would review the situation and inspect the sites accordingly, he maintained.
Answering another question, he said the commission held meetings on alternate basis and its next meeting would be held in India, for which dates would be finalised later.
Mr Gupta said the meeting was held in a cordial manner and both sides had consensus on all the agenda items.
He said India would improve and continue to provide forecasting data, and would not take any initiative contrary to agreements between the two countries.
Mr Shah and Mr Gupta led their respective sides at the meeting, attended by Mohammad Tahir Wasim, Faris Qazi, Dr Mohammad Siddiq, M. H. Siddiqui, Bashir Ahmad Qureshi, Shaukat Ali Awan and Uzma Akhtar Chughtai from Pakistan and Atal Dulloo, Jarnail Singh, R. A. Kamili, S. K. G. Pandit, G. Aranganathan and C. K. L. Das from India.—APP
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