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| >>World Bank expert hasn't rejected Pak viewpoint | | Islamabad's plea on Baglihar project likely to be accepted | |
NEW DELHI, OCT. 23
Government of India has just received a report from Islamabad, which specifically refers to the Pakistan government's stepped-up 'optimism' vis-a-vis the forthcoming decision from the World Bank on the future of the Baglihar hydropower project now under construction in the Jammu region. Even as the decision is expected in December, Islamabad has, significantly, started encouraging the circulation of reports in media and political circles in Pakistan about the World Bank's pro-Pak opinion.
A neutral expert appointed by the World Bank to settle the Baglihar dispute between India and Pakistan, according to these reports, is expected to approve changes proposed by Pakistan to the design of the dam now under construction on the Chenab river in Jammu region.
The neutral expert has held meetings with both sides in the past and also visited the site of the project to resolve the issue. The report fed to New Delhi from Islamabad says that Pakistan made a strong case before the expert, contending that the Baglihar power plant was not designed in line with the criteria laid in the Indus Water Treaty. The report has added that Pakistan’s point of view received due attention, and there is a "possibility" that the expert may approve some of the changes suggested by Pakistan.
Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources has, at the same time, dismissed recent media reports implying that Pakistan was losing the case, saying that Islamabad effectively took up the issue with India and made efforts to resolve it. The report also quoted unidentified Pakistani offical sources as saying: “Had the issue not been given attention, there could have been negative impact on Pakistan’s economic progress and its political and diplomatic status".
Pakistan took the matter to the World Bank when its efforts to resolve the issue bilaterally failed. Both India andPakistan discussed the issue at the Indus Water Commission and secretary levels, but they could not make headway largely due to India’s refusal to change the design of the project. The World Bank’s arbitration in the India-Pakistan dispute over the Baglihar hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to conclude by the end of the year, with the neutral expert scheduling his last meeting with the two sides on November 7.
Swiss professor Raymond Lafitte will meet officials of the two countries in Washington for three days, during which he will firm up his conclusions with regard to the 450-MW Baglihar project. The Indian delegation will consist of top experts and lawyer Fali S Nariman, who has been arguing New Delhi’s case since Lafitte was appointed the neutral expert in May last year. This will be the neutral expert’s “final round of meetings” with the two countries.
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