NEW DELHI, March 24: Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters, has said that inspection of different projects on the Jhelum River in occupied Kashmir shows that India has unilaterally started work on hydroelectricity project without informing Pakistan.

The project under contention is the 240-megawatt Uri-2 dam.

Mr Shah was talking to media at a local hotel prior to his return to Pakistan.

Shah arrived here on March 19 for a routine inspection of projects on the Jhelum River under the Indus Basin Treaty.

The Pakistan commissioner led a three-member team, which inspected Wullar Barage, Uri, Lower Jhelum hydro project and Uri-two.

He said India’s failure to inform Pakistan about the Uri-two work was against the true spirit of the treaty and the matter would be taken up at the next meeting of commissioners of both sides. The meeting will be held in New Delhi in May.

He expressed satisfaction that the work on the Wullar Barrage and another project of 480 MW of Uri-2 was not taking place.

He said the issue of Wullar Barrage was being discussed within the framework of the on-going composite dialogue between Pakistan and India. India, he said, should resolve the water issues with Pakistan amicably according to the spirit of the Indus Basin Treaty.

Referring to the verdict of a neutral expert on the Baglihar project, he said three out of four objections raised by Pakistan had been accepted while the fourth was decided outside the parameters of the Indus Basin Treaty.—APP