ISLAMABAD, July 29: Pakistan and India held on Thursday that the Indus Water Treaty 1960 was sacrosanct and agreed to resolve the issue of Wullar Barrage within parameters of that accord.

"We are very much sincere to resolve the issue within the provisions of the treaty and we are not discussing anything outside this (treaty)," said Mr V.K. Duggal, the Indian Secretary for Water Resources.

Mr Duggal, who is leading a 10-member delegation, was talking to newsmen here after close of discussions on the first day of the two-day secretary-level talks on the controversial Wullar Barrage as part of an eight-point composite dialogue between the two countries.

Responding to a question, the head of Pakistani negotiating team and secretary of water and power Ashfaq Mehmood said the two sides were not discussing any new agreement or anything other than the Wullar Barrage.

"Sincerity leads to the solution of any dispute and hence we hope that we would be able to reach a rationale solution to the issue at the end of the talks," he said.

Both the secretaries said the first round of talks was very constructive and positive. The secretary-level talks on the subject were last held in 1998. In 1984, India had started construction of around 439 feet high and 40 feet wide barrage on outfall of the River Jhelum with a storage capacity of around 0.3 million acres feet without informing Pakistan as was required under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.

The sources said the two sides on Thursday exchanged position papers of their respective governments on the Wullar Barrage and discussed technicalities of the project.

Mr Duggal said both sides presented points of views of the two governments and confirmed that papers were exchanged. He said both the countries were very civilised nations and understood each other's views.

He said the two sides discussed different technicalities of the project and it was hoped that talks would reach some tangible outcome on Friday. Responding to another question, the Indian secretary said he could not say that Pakistan's stand was wrong or India's position was wrong.

The Indian secretary said that Indus Water Treaty of 1960 was sacrosanct and any conclusion would be based on the treaty. He said India was not constructing a reservoir, rather it would be a navigational channel between Srinagar and Baramula that would be beneficial to Pakistan as well but did not elaborate how.

Mr Duggal, who was born in Sheikhupura before the partition, would visit his birthplace after the conclusion of the talks on Friday evening. The Indian delegation earlier called on Minister for Water and Power Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in the morning.

An official statement quoting the minister said it was a good omen that the Pakistani and Indian delegations were meeting to have a fresh look into the Wullar Barrage project. He expressed the hope that sincere efforts would be made towards a settlement, in accordance with the Indus Water Treaty of 1960.