JAMMU, Oct 20: A three-member Pakistan team arrived in Jammu on Monday to inspect a contentious hydro-electric project.

“The Pakistan government had requested India to grant permission to its team to visit the Bagliar (hydro-electric project). Our request has been accepted and we are here in Jammu,” Syed Jamaiat Ali Shah, head of the delegation, told AFP.

The team will inspect the Bagliar project to see whether any provisions of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty had been violated.

The 1960 Indus Water Treaty was negotiated between 1951 and 1960 following rising tensions between the two countries after New Delhi stemmed the flow of Indus tributaries to Pakistan on April 1, 1948, due to lack of an agreement.

Under the treaty, India has exclusive rights to the waters of the Sutlej, Ravi and Beas tributaries of the Indus while Pakistan has those to the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers.

Every year before the monsoon season, the traditionally hostile neighbours hold official talks to work out a water-sharing agreement based on the treaty.

One of the main issues of contention is two dams being built by India. One is the Bagliar dam, which is nearing completion, and the other is the proposed Kirshna Ganga dam.

Pakistan has objected to the construction of the Bagliar dam, saying that it cannot be used to store any water from the Jhelum river.

India has steadfastly refused any international inspections of the treaty’s implementation or the dam projects.—AFP