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BASIRAHMED (Pursuing Research at, West Asian and African Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) In the wake of the failure of Indo- Pak secretary level talks for ironing outthe dispute over the 450 MW Baglihar power project, addressing a pressconference, Pakistans Secretary for Water and Power Ashfaq Mehmood claimed thatIslamabad had done everything and shown flexibility to resolve the issuebilaterally. Pakistan had approached the World Bank for a neutral expert toresolve the Baglihar hydro electric project tangle, claiming that the projectlocated in Jammu and Kashmir does not conform to the Indus Water Treaty. Hesaid that, Pakistan has waited for five years to resolve the dispute. It [thetalks] was the final attempt but the situation is the same. Matters could notbe resolved and our issues were not addressed, he added. Subsequently, Professor Raymond Lafitte, a Swiss national, civilengineer and professor at the SwissFederal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, has been appointed as the"Neutral Expert" by the World Bank to decide on the fate of Bagliharproject. Pakistan has apprised the World Bank of its objections and sought its help topursue India to modify its design. It has listed three conditions under whichIslamabad could hold talk with India: " India should immediately halt the construction of the project. And it shouldnot allow any work on it. " India must share the technical details of the dam, especially regarding damheight, design, nature of construction, work schedule etc. " India should evolve a mechanism for the resolution ofdispute. The Pakistani objection over the Baglihar project relates to Article V of theIndus Water Treaty. As per the provision,if India constructs any water drawing projects on the Western rivers, it will have to pay compensation toPakistan in lieu of the losses incurred by later on water supplies forirrigation canals, which were dependent on the water flow from Eastern rivers.The Indus Water Treaty allowed Pakistan to construct a system of replacementcanals to carry water from the western rivers into those areas inWest Pakistan that were earlier dependent for their irrigation supplies onwater from the eastern rivers. The Indian stand on this regard has been that, Since India hasalready paid its contribution of 62,060,000 pounds to the World Bank towardscompensation to Pakistan under thisclause, therefore the Article V is no more applicable.
India had almost fulfilled all the three above mentioned objections raised byPakistan as a precondition for any future talks with India. It stopped theconstruction of the dam till a joint agreement is reached with Pakistan. Itshared the technical details regardingdesign and height of dam. It went ahead and tried to evolve a common mechanism for the bilateral resolution of theproblem. Much beyond that, India,in a bid to persuade Pakistan to give up its objections, even allowed itsexperts to inspect the dam site andprovided the additional data on the height and design of thedam. It held a series of talks officiallyand unofficially with Pakistan since January 2005.
India had consistently maintained that the construction of Baglihar projectdoes not violates the Indus Water Treaty. Mr. Dasmunshi in a recent press interviewsaid, "In my understanding there is no violation of the Indus Water Treaty in any manner". The question of violation also does not arises, since Indiahas already paid the due compensation to the world Bank emanating from Article Vof the Indus Water Treaty. Indiaaffirmed that the Project is not intended to either dam the river or affect theflow of waters to Pakistan. The Baglihar project is important for Indiabecause it will meet the power requirementsalong with creating employment opportunities for the Kashmiripeople. Jammu and Kashmir FinanceMinister Muzaffar Hussain Baig told PTI that, ''our State is faced with acute power shortage but the waterof our rivers is going to Pakistan''. It is officially estimated thatthe State is suffering a loss of Rs 6,500 crores a year. It is obvious thatPakistan wants to deny upper riparian Jammu and Kashmir the right to use its own rivers.
Reacting strongly against Pakistan for approaching the World Bank on thecontroversial Baglihar project, moderate separatist leaders Syed Nazir Gilaniand Dr. Shabir Choudhry have questioned Islamabads legal or moral right overthe natural resources of Jammu and Kashmir. Water of Chenab and other rivers isa natural resource of Jammu and Kashmir and it must be used for the bettermentof the people of the state. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have first priorityover the use of this water. Pakistan should become a facilitator in theeconomic progress of the state by not objecting to the Baglihar hydro powerproject.
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