In an effort to settle their decades-long water dispute, Pakistani and Indian officials met in Vienna for two days at the invitation of a neutral expert. The conference was held in ANKARA.
The Indian Foreign Ministry claims that eminent attorney Harish Salve represented India at the meeting.
PTI, citing a ministry statement, reported that on September 20 and 21, an Indian delegation led by the secretary of the Department of Water Resources met with the neutral expert proceedings in the Kishenganga and Ratle matter at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Vienna.
The neutral expert designated at India’s request under the Indus Waters Treaty reportedly called for the conference, which was attended by officials from both India and Pakistan.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled in favour of Pakistan and India in their dispute over two major hydropower projects in July of this year, notwithstanding India’s objections to the PCA’s authority. The verdict was rejected by India.
Long a bone of contention between the two nuclear rivals, the PCA decided in The Hague that it has the “competence” to consider issues related to the 330-megawatt Kishanganga and the 850-megawatt Ratle hydropower projects.
The PCA verdict came after a protracted legal struggle between the two countries, who are embroiled in a number of land and maritime issues, including over Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to water-sharing.
Under the IWT, a water sharing deal mediated by the World Bank in 1960, the two long-time enemies share the water of six rivers.
In accordance with the treaty, Pakistan receives the waters of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, while India receives those of the Sutlej, the Beas, and the Ravi.
New Delhi believes that Islamabad controls more water than New Delhi as a result of the pact, while Islamabad claims that India is “continuously violating” the deal by building dams on the western rivers.
The Brahmaputra River, which flows from Tibet and supplies one-third of India’s irrigation demands, is at the centre of a dispute between India and China over the construction of dams and the projected diversion of this river.
