Indus water treaty violations: legal options to be weighed up today
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15/09/2008
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Business Recorder (Pakistan)
An inter-departmental meeting is scheduled for Tuesday (today) in the Ministry of Water and Power to discuss legal options against India for violating the precept of the Indus water treaty by stopping Chenab water in August to fill Baglihar Dam, built in occupied Kashmir.
"We do not have any complaint against India at present as water is coming in accordance with historical trends. Basically, India had stopped water in the middle of August," said Jamat Ali Shah, Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters (PCIW) while talking to Business Recorder from Lahore.
Historically, in August, India releases 50,000-55,000 cusecs of water but this year it was almost 50 percent less which is a cause of concern for Pakistan, he added. He said that he was unaware of the exact amount of water stopped by India in August and added that he could not categorically deny that India had not stopped the water.
On Monday Pakistan received 20,000 cusecs water in Marala, which is almost the same as that of last year. "We have asked the Indian government to arrange a meeting of Water Commissioners of both the countries to assess the situation," Shah added.
The sources said that Tuesday's meeting will also be attended by other departments who closely monitor developments in occupied Kashmir. An official of Indus River System Authority (Irsa) told Business Recorder that Irsa has also been invited to the meeting despite the fact that it has no concern with water inflow from India.
"We have nothing to do with the incoming water as our mandate is to distribute available water amongst the provinces," he added. He said that Irsa's technical committee is holding its meeting on September 26 to discuss the issues relating to water. He further said that Irsa Advisory Committee will meet on September 28 to approve water distribution plan for 2008-09.