Pak to seek World Bank's help to resolve Kishanganga dispute with India

Islamabad, May 1 (ANI): After the Baglihar Dam issue, Pakistan is considering an approach to the World Bank (WB) to appoint a neutral arbitrator to resolve the Kishanganga water dispute with India.

The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) claims New Delhi has not responded positively to Islamabad's call to resolve the issue amicably, thus forcing it to urge the World Bank to step in.

"We have not received any satisfactory response to a letter written on Kishanganga by the Indus water commissioner to his Indian counterpart in March, and we are now in the process of considering the option of approaching the WB for a neutral expert," the Daily Times quoted FO spokesperson Abdul Basit, as saying.

Pakistan has been opposing the construction of the Kishanganga hydropower project on Ganga River in Kashmir, which is called Neelum upon entering Pakistan.

Pakistan has said the diversion of waters of the Neelum is not allowed under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, and it will face a 27 per cent water deficit, when the project gets completed.

The reduced water flow in the Neelum would not yield the required results of the proposed 1.6 billion dollars Neelum-Jehlum hydropower project that has been designed to generate 969 MW of electricity.

It has said that India has almost completed a 22-kilometre long tunnel to divert Kishanganga waters to Wullar Lake in Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)