LAHORE, March 10: Pakistan has not received any ?formal? offer from India in recent days to send technical experts to visit the Baglihar dam site in recent days, officials of the Ministry of Water and Power and the Pakistan Indus Commission said here on Thursday.
Responding to a statement by Indian Minister for Water Priya Ranjhan Dasmunshi made on Wednesday at Kolkata that India had invited experts from Pakistan to visit the site, the officials said India had neither made any formal offer nor Pakistan had asked for it.
?The issue of the Baglihar dam is no more a bilateral problem. Pakistan has already moved a petition to the World Bank for arbitration by a neutral expert on it after India refused to stop construction work. In the present circumstances, the two countries cannot resort to bilateral talks and prejudice the World Bank?s arbitration process,? they said.
?If India wants to settle the issue bilaterally, it would have to first suspend construction work on the dam. This has been made clear to India on more than one occasions without any positive response from the Indian side. Now, when the matter has gone to the World Bank, such statements are being given (by the Indians) to politicise a technical matter,? the officials said.
Under the Indus Basin Treaty procedures, only Pakistan ? being the aggrieved party ? can make a request to visit the site; India cannot extend such an offer on its own. Of late, Pakistan has neither made any fresh request nor anyone is pending with India. Even if Pakistan makes a request in future for visiting the site, it would be without any prejudice to its current position and the process undertaken by the World Bank.
The officials advised India to ?better use diplomatic channels if it wanted to reconsider its earlier position and solve the problem bilaterally rather than making political statements for public consumption.?
Talking about India building dykes within high banks of the River Ravi, which could divert flood waters to Pakistan and multiply its damages, they said India cannot build such dykes under the Indus Basin Water Treaty.
In pre-dykes period, flood water could spread evenly between India and Pakistan. India started building dykes in the beginning of 2002 at the height of a military build-up on the international borders. Pakistan approached India with pictures of new construction within high banks of Ravi and requested to stop the work. India responded with counter-allegations claiming that Pakistan was also building such dykes on the river and promised to come up with evidence in the next meeting, which it could not. Last year, when the matter was again taken up by the Pakistani side, India chose to reiterate its earlier stance.
Now the Pakistan Indus Commissioner would be visiting India for an annual routine visit and is trying to include site in its itenary. India has given an assurance to take the Pakistani team to the site but there is no certainty if it would keep it words, the officials said. Pakistan made a late request to include the site in its tour plan and India could hide behind this excuse to deny access at the last moments, they feared.
Qudssia Akhlaque adds from Islamabad: Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said on Thursday that the Baglihar dam dispute was a technical issue and the Indian government should refrain from politicizing it.
?The Baglihar dam dispute is a technical and not a political issue and must be treated as such,? Mr Jilani said, adding that the Indian leaders should avoid giving political statements.
On the question of third-party intervention, the spokesman pointed out that Pakistan was strictly adhering to the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. In this context, he referred to the dispute-settlement mechanism of the treaty agreed upon between the two countries.
?Pakistan is following treaty?s provisions in letter and spirit and has approached the World Bank to resolve the issue only after exhausting all options,? he emphasized.
Mr Jilani maintained that the dam being constructed by India on River Chenab was in clear violation of the treaty.
He said Pakistan was willing to discuss other options provided India stopped construction work, a position that had been conveyed to India at the last round of secretary-level talks here.
Responding to a statement by Indian Minister for Water Priya Ranjhan Dasmunshi made on Wednesday at Kolkata that India had invited experts from Pakistan to visit the site, the officials said India had neither made any formal offer nor Pakistan had asked for it.
?The issue of the Baglihar dam is no more a bilateral problem. Pakistan has already moved a petition to the World Bank for arbitration by a neutral expert on it after India refused to stop construction work. In the present circumstances, the two countries cannot resort to bilateral talks and prejudice the World Bank?s arbitration process,? they said.
?If India wants to settle the issue bilaterally, it would have to first suspend construction work on the dam. This has been made clear to India on more than one occasions without any positive response from the Indian side. Now, when the matter has gone to the World Bank, such statements are being given (by the Indians) to politicise a technical matter,? the officials said.
Under the Indus Basin Treaty procedures, only Pakistan ? being the aggrieved party ? can make a request to visit the site; India cannot extend such an offer on its own. Of late, Pakistan has neither made any fresh request nor anyone is pending with India. Even if Pakistan makes a request in future for visiting the site, it would be without any prejudice to its current position and the process undertaken by the World Bank.
The officials advised India to ?better use diplomatic channels if it wanted to reconsider its earlier position and solve the problem bilaterally rather than making political statements for public consumption.?
Talking about India building dykes within high banks of the River Ravi, which could divert flood waters to Pakistan and multiply its damages, they said India cannot build such dykes under the Indus Basin Water Treaty.
In pre-dykes period, flood water could spread evenly between India and Pakistan. India started building dykes in the beginning of 2002 at the height of a military build-up on the international borders. Pakistan approached India with pictures of new construction within high banks of Ravi and requested to stop the work. India responded with counter-allegations claiming that Pakistan was also building such dykes on the river and promised to come up with evidence in the next meeting, which it could not. Last year, when the matter was again taken up by the Pakistani side, India chose to reiterate its earlier stance.
Now the Pakistan Indus Commissioner would be visiting India for an annual routine visit and is trying to include site in its itenary. India has given an assurance to take the Pakistani team to the site but there is no certainty if it would keep it words, the officials said. Pakistan made a late request to include the site in its tour plan and India could hide behind this excuse to deny access at the last moments, they feared.
Qudssia Akhlaque adds from Islamabad: Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said on Thursday that the Baglihar dam dispute was a technical issue and the Indian government should refrain from politicizing it.
?The Baglihar dam dispute is a technical and not a political issue and must be treated as such,? Mr Jilani said, adding that the Indian leaders should avoid giving political statements.
On the question of third-party intervention, the spokesman pointed out that Pakistan was strictly adhering to the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. In this context, he referred to the dispute-settlement mechanism of the treaty agreed upon between the two countries.
?Pakistan is following treaty?s provisions in letter and spirit and has approached the World Bank to resolve the issue only after exhausting all options,? he emphasized.
Mr Jilani maintained that the dam being constructed by India on River Chenab was in clear violation of the treaty.
He said Pakistan was willing to discuss other options provided India stopped construction work, a position that had been conveyed to India at the last round of secretary-level talks here.