India, Pakistan Indus Water Commissioners hold meeting to resolve water dispute

Raja Sansi (Amritsar, Punjab), July 30 (ANI): Indian and Pakistani officials have met in New Delhi to discuss their water-related disputes, and have said that talks between the two countries will continue.

Pakistan's Indus Waters Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah told ANI here that a permanent solution of the water dispute would decrease tension between the two nations.

He said Pakistan has registered its reservations on the dispute with India. Since then, both countries have conducted a series of meetings to resolve their water-related disputes.

"If differences get resolved, in time, the destiny would be peace and, India and Pakistan should go ahead to resolve the water dispute at the earliest most," Shah said.

A high-level Pakistani delegation headed by Muhammad Ahsan Akhtar Malik, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Water and Power, Government of Pakistan, Pakistan's Indus Waters Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah and Shair Bahadur Khan, legal officer, reached at Raja Sansi Airport on Friday on their way back to Pakistan via the Wagah land route.

Shah told ANI that there is a permanent treaty, which was dully signed by the both countries in 1960, and now both countries should observe that.

He said: "I do agree there are some disputes,but it can only be resolved with true implementation of the rules of the treaty in letter and sprit, and with transparency."

Pakistan had also proposed installation of a telemetry system for recording instant water flow in the Indus River.

Shah said there would be no use for information coming after three months, where as a telemetry system would provide all data in actual time through the satellite system.

He informed that state departments besides the federal governments should be involved in the installation of the telemetry system, and added that it would take time to implement.

Expressing satisfaction over the meeting they had at New Delhi, Malik said: "We had talks in a good atmosphere and it was about the Indus Water Treaty. Since you know that there are arbitrations going on and we had to take out the draw lots, so we did it."

He said that resolving the disputes through dialogue is an ongoing process and they had successfully had completed their meeting with Indian officials at New Delhi. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)