Mohammad Jamil
The World Bank is working in conjunction with Pakistan and India to find an amicable solution over the differences regarding dispute resolution mechanism in Kishanganga hydropower project under the Indus Waters Treaty. Last month, a four-member Pakistan delegation, headed by the then Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali had requested the World Bank to act as a guarantor in the Kishanganga Dam issue. The delegation apprised World Bank president Jim Yong Kim and other representatives of India’s repeated violations of Indus Waters Treaty. World Bank spokesperson remarked: “The Indus Waters Treaty is a profoundly important international agreement that provides an essential cooperative framework for India and Pakistan to address current and future challenges of effective water management to meet human needs and achieve development goals. The meetings are discussing concerns raised by the Pakistan delegation and opportunities within the treaty to seek an amicable resolution,” the spokesperson added.
The meeting had taken place after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kishanganga Hydro Electric Project amid protests from Pakistan, which said the project on a river flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies. In response to the meeting of Pakistani delegation with Chief Executive Officer World Bank held on 21 May 2018 for Resolution of Disputes on KHEP and RHEP by the World Bank, Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel of World Bank had forwarded a letter to the then Attorney General of Pakistan Mr. Ashtar Ausaf Ali. The letter contained a summary of ideas to resolve the stalemate and proffered 2 proposals for which concerned authorities (MoWR/AGP) will convene a meeting to finalize Pakistan’s response. Proposal number one is that Pakistan accepts Indian request to appoint neutral Expert (NE); and proposal two is that India accepts Pakistan’s request for emplacement of Court of Arbitration (COA).
Contrary to above, it has been observed that a deliberate and sustained disinformation campaign has been launched in both print and electronic media regarding loss of Pakistan’s case at international forum i.e. World Bank. The 330MW Kishanganga hydro-electric project on which work started in 2009, is one of the projects that India has fast-tracked in the volatile state amid frosty ties between India and Pakistan – the nuclear-armed countries. Pakistan has opposed some of the projects, saying they violate a World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends. Last month, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Pakistan is seriously concerned about the inauguration of the Kishanganga plant, and believes that inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty”.
The Kishanganga project was delayed for several years as Pakistan had taken up the issue in the International Court of Arbitration, which ruled in India’s favour in 2013. India said the hydropower projects underway in Jammu and Kashmir were “run-of-the-river” schemes that use the river’s flow and elevation to generate electricity rather than large reservoirs, and do not contravene the treaty. Outgoing Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry had earlier remarked that Pakistan intended to consult with the World Bank on the Kishanganga Dam issue. Speaking in the context of issues pertaining to Islamabad’s eastside neighbour, Aizaz Chaudhry had said the country intended to take up plans of Indus Waters Treaty, Kishanganga Hydro-Electric Project, and Ratle Hydroelectric Plant with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim.
The Washington-based lender had started the engagement process in late-2016 to bridge differences between both countries regarding water infrastructure projects following in tandem the directives of the Indus Water Treaty. The engagement process remains stalled and uncompleted. A report in The News said World Bank in an emailed response to a query about this issue said Indus Water Treaty was a seriously significant international agreement which gives an important cooperative framework for Pakistan and India to tackle present and future challenges of effective water management for meeting human requirements and attain development goals.
