ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: Islamabad will not hold further talks with New Delhi on the contentious Baglihar dam issue unless the latter suspends all construction work on the project site.

This was stated by senior Pakistan government officials when their reaction was sought on India's latest offer for further discussions on technical aspects of the Baglihar hydro-power project.

The officials told Dawn on Wednesday that Islamabad was absolutely clear that it would only attend another round of talks with New Delhi on the Baglihar when the latter stopped the construction work on the project.

A foreign ministry official pointed out that this was the position Pakistan took also at the talks in New Delhi last week when India proposed the same. However, India refused to do so.

Not completely ruling out the possibility of further talks, a senior official said: "We are prepared for more talks if India agrees to stop construction on the project site."

Pakistan has been demanding this for over a year now but India has paid no heed to it. Asked if Pakistan had been formally approached by the Indian government on this issue after the breakdown of talks last week, a top government official said: "No.

We are interested in finding a solution to the Baglihar issue but India wants to merely prolong the process and derail the bilateral water-sharing treaty." A senior diplomat at the Indian High Commission here was evasive when asked by this Correspondent on Wednesday if India's offer for more talks on the Baglihar issue could mean it was considering halting the construction work.

However, the Indian diplomat maintained that at the last round of talks there was some level of convergence on the issue which India thought could be resolved bilaterally through further discussions.

When pressed further on the question, his response was: "If anything more needs to be said, it would be from New Delhi." Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Ministry of Water and Power and other relevant government departments have started preparations for moving the World Bank for appointment of a neutral expert for arbitration.

However, it is not clear when the Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters will send the formal notification to the Bank that brokered the 1960 Indus Water Treaty and stood as its guarantor.

Sources said Pakistan had also instructed all its missions in key world capitals to apprise their host governments about the latest development on the Baglihar dispute and Pakistan's position on the issue.

Pakistan's stand is that the design of Baglihar hydro-power plant being constructed by India on the River Chenab in occupied Kashmir is in breach of the treaty. India, however, maintains that it is not.

The treaty provides for settlement of disputes and differences between the two parties first by the Commission and if that fails, the issue is to be taken up at the diplomatic level, and if even that fails a Court of Arbitration can be invoked.

While government maintains that seeking the World Bank intervention on the issue would not have a direct bearing on the composite dialogue with India, observers say it is bound to sully the atmosphere and the on-going Indo-Pakistan peace process.