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| Upcoming verdict on J&K project | | World Bank expert's anouncement on Feb. 12 | | BL KAK
NEW DELHI|FEB 1 A highly important message from Switzerland just received by New Delhi: World Bank appointed neutral expert arbitrating the lingering India-Pakistan dispute over the Baglihar hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir will give his final verdict on February 12. The verdict will be made public in Switzerland itself.
The verdict of the Swiss neutral expert, Raymond Latiffe, will be conveyed to heads of diplomatic missions of India and Pakistan in either Geneva or Berne, the message has made it clear. By the time the government of India began consultations with a group of experts over the proposed line of action, Pakistan's Foreign Office let it be known in Islamabad that the verdict will be relayed on February 12 to either Paskistan's permanent repreesentative in Geneva or Pak envoy in Berne from where it will be electronically transmited to Pak Foreign Ministry.
The neutral expert would invite the diplomats of the two countries to his office and hand them each a written copy of his final verdict, according to the message from Switzerland. The verdict would be binding on both the parties.
The Baglihar verdict acquires special significance in India-Pakistan context given that it would be the first bilateral dispute to be settled through third party mediation in a transparent process with consensus of both parties.
So far the two countries have failed to resolve any outstanding dispute bilaterally despite numerous rounds of talks over the past few decades. Also, the ruling on Baglihar project, now under construction in Jammu region, would determine the course of action Pakistan would take on another water dispute that it has with India over its plan of constructing 330 MW Kishanganga dam on the Jhelum river in Kashmir.
With less than two weeks left before the much-awaited verdict on Baglihar is issued, there are conflicting signals on which way it is likely to go. There is no offical word yet. However, there are some media reports in Pakistan that suggest a favourable outcome for India and others that claim the verdict would uphold Pakistan's contention.
Pakistan's position is that the design of the Baglihar dam is in breach of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. It maintains that the 450 MW hydroelectric project on the Chenab river in the Jammu region would allow India far more water storage than agreed under the bilateral water-sharing treaty. Pakistan's main concern is that the gated structure in the design would provide India the capability to manipulate flow of water to Pakistan's disadvantage.
However, India maintains that the design is in accordance with the stipulated provisions of the Indus Water Treaty. More importantly, two Houses of the Jammu and Kashmir Lwegislature were recently informed officially that the work on the Baglihar project had not been suspended and that construction activity continued to ensure completion of the hydroelectric project during the current year.
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