October 12, 2008	Sunday	Shawwal 12, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah has said that he will press his Indian counterpart to ensure that Pakistan is compensated for last month’s water loss of 0.2million acre feet (MAF) when he visits India for a week from next Saturday.

India had completely blocked the supply of regular water (23,000 cusecs a day) to Pakistan from the Chenab River last month while filling its Baglihar Dam, badly affecting Pakistan’s share of irrigation water. The move is being considered by Pakistan a violation of the Sept 1960 Indus Water Treaty.

Talking to Dawn on Saturday, Mr Jamaat Ali Shah said the treaty was between two nations, and not two persons to be taken too lightly or be violated.

“We must respect this treaty as responsible nations. I tell you there are no guarantors in bilateral agreements between nations, but the nations concerned are its guarantors,” Mr Shah replied when asked whether the treaty has any guarantor(s) for the World Bank, which arbitrated the treaty, has cleared its position by calling its status as that of a “mediator”.

Mr Shah will be leading a Pakistani delegation to New Delhi on October 18 to discuss last month’s violation of the treaty by India. The delegation will stay in India till Oct 24 and will also visit the Baglihar dam site in held Kashmir.

In reply to a question, he said the meeting of the commission was the first step in resolving water issues related to the Indus Water Treaty. He said it was premature to say anything about the outcome, but Pakistan reserved the right to take up the issue with the World Bank again if India refused to compensate it.

He said that India had violated the Indus treaty by unilaterally blocking the flow of the Chenab River to Pakistan. He said there were always some loopholes in all water treaties, but this did not mean that a nation should use this to its advantage and to the detriment of the other. Mr Shah said at present Pakistan was getting the normal flow of water from Chenab.