Pak cries foul over water dispute again

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir has once again raked up the Kashmir issue, and said peace and stability in South Asia is not possible unless the long pending disputes between India and Pakistan are resolved.

During a meeting with foreign diplomats in Islamabad, Bashir said India should also come forward to resolve water issues with Pakistan in accordance with the Indus Waters Treaty, and added that Islamabad is committed towards resuming a sustained and meaningful engagement with New Delhi, The Dawn reports.

The Indus Waters Treaty, inked between India and Pakistan in 1960, provides for the appointment of a neutral expert by the World Bank as a last option to resolve water-related issues between both the countries.

Pakistan has been blaming India for its 'unsporting attitude' during bilateral talks, which were initiated to resolve the impending water dispute.

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

Referring to the roadmap for the resumption of composite dialogue, which was tabled before India during the recent foreign-secretary level talks, Bashir said Pakistan is hopeful about getting a positive response from India as there is no other option but "to talk to each other with clarity and sincerity of purpose."