WASHINGTON, April 27: Pakistan has indicated that it may consider withdrawing its complaint to the World Bank over the Baglihar dam dispute if India suspends work on the project in occupied Kashmir. Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani was quoted by the Voice of America radio as saying that if India stopped work and sincerely started talks on redesigning the dam, Pakistan would withdraw its case from the World Bank.

On Tuesday, the World Bank formally announced it was ready to appoint a neutral expert as demanded by Pakistan and senior bank officials said they had seen media reports suggesting that India and Pakistan were trying to settle the dispute bilaterally but had not heard anything from them.

Meanwhile, Director Raj Kumar Singh of Jaiprakash Associates, the builders of Baglihar Dam, told reporters in Jammu that they had received “some messages” from New Delhi indicating that the construction on the Baglihar site could be stopped but there was nothing official yet.

Indian Foreign Office spokesman Navtej Sarna, however, told Voice of America, that he could not confirm or deny reports that an understanding had been reached between India and Pakistan to settle the dispute bilaterally during President Musharraf’s visit to New Delhi.

Diplomatic sources in Washington told Dawn that Pakistan could only withdraw its complaint if India gave concrete assurance that it would suspend the Baglihar dam project and would not resume construction after the withdrawal of the complaint. They said that if India resumes construction after Pakistan withdraws its case, it will be very difficult for Islamabad to go back to the World Bank to seek a redress.