India implementing Indus Water Treaty in letter and spirit: IWT commissioner

Lahore, Mar.28 (ANI): Rejecting Pakistani allegations of violating the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, India's Indus Water Treaty (IWT) Commissioner Aranga Nathan has said India is implementing the accord in letter and spirit.

Talking to media persons at Lahore airport, Nathan said he had come to Pakistan with a five-point agenda to discuss the long pending river water sharing issue.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Indus Water Treaty Commissioner, Jamaat Ali Shah, has expressed hope that differences between the two sides would be narrowed down during the meeting.

Shah said Pakistan has also raised objections over India's Chutak and Nimoo Bazgo water projects which are affecting water flow in the River Indus, The Dawn reports.

Pakistan has been repeatedly blaming India for its unsporting attitude on the water dispute.

Pakistan has opposed the construction of the Kishanganga hydropower project on the Ganga River in Kashmir, which it calls the Neelum. 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 is 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.

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