SRINAGAR: Few days after prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh commissioned the state's first 450 MW Baglihar power project, Pakistan has once again objected to the construction of the power project and has said that 23,000 cusecs of water to fill Baglihar dam has reduced the flow of water in the river Chenab. The Pakistani government has threatened to take up the issue with the World Bank again if they are not properly compensated. Pakistan has raised the objections at a time when state government has several power projects in the pipeline and the work on these projects was expected to start soon to utilise full water potential of 18,000 MW in the state. Pakistan today threatened to go for third party arbitration if, it said, India does not compensate it for the loss of two million acre feet of water due to an alleged reduction in the flow of the Chenab River. Accusing India of diverting water from the Chenab to fill the Baglihar dam in Jammu and Kashmir, Indus Waters Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah said Islamabad will neither drop its claim nor "sell" its share of Chenab waters. Shah's comments came days after President Asif Ali Zardari warned that a row over the sharing of waters of the Indus river system could affect bilateral ties. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Lahore yesterday, Shah said he would take up Pakistan's claim for the diverted Chenab waters when he goes to India with a delegation on October 18. "India will have to compensate Pakistan during the coming rabi season. Otherwise, Islamabad will resort to other treaty mechanisms to get its due share," he said. Pakistan has no objection to the design of the Baglihar dam, which was changed by India on the recommendations of a World Bank-appointed neutral expert. But India has to observe the criteria for filling the dam, which were not part of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, he said. "If India insists on its rights under the treaty it also has to observe its duties that exclude tampering with the Chenab flows. It is under a treaty obligation to release 55,000 cusecs even when filling the lake," he said. Pakistan will ask India to release the water that was allegedly diverted for Rabi crops during November-April, Shah said. During his visit to India, Shah will visit the Baglihar dam and participate in a meeting of the Permanent Commission for Indus Waters. The state government has received the news as a shock saying that objection can prove counter productive for them to construct other power projects. The construction of the Baglihar power project was considered just as an opening to overcome the huge power deficit and to utilise the full water resources. The state is importing power annually worth Rs1900 crores from central government and have only generating capacity of 537 MW to meet the domestic consumption of 780 MW. The construction of the Baglihar power project has generated the hope that it can help the state to overcome the growing power crisis particularly during winters. The construction of Uri, Salal, Baglihar and other small power projects in the state had become a bone of contention between India and Pakistan for the last so many years. Pakistan is saying that the designs of the construction of these power projects are violation of 1960 Indus water treaty, to sort out the differences, the World Bank had to intervene and they had sent its experts on the site of the Baglihar dam and sorted out the apprehensions of the Pakistan. A World Bank team conducted an inquiry into the dispute in 2005 but did not find any major block on the flow of the water. Pakistani government has made up its mind to send its delegation to New Delhi on October 18 to discuss the alleged violation on the Indus water treaty, saying that it is curtailing the water share to irrigate their agriculture fields, New Delhi on the other hand is saying that the project is crucial for meeting power needs in the state. The objection has been voiced at a time when New Delhi and Islamabad have decided to re-start their trade links on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route after six decades. If the issue could not be resolved carefully it can adversely affect the ongoing CBMs as indicated by the Pakistani government. State government was planning to involve private entrepreneurs in the construction of the power projects, but the fresh objection will definitely force the government to remain silent till the controversy is over. Even though, Pakistan has not formally lodged its complaint about the construction of the power projects, the mainstream parties have once again start criticizing the Indus water treaty saying that the treaty is against the interest of the state and centre should compensate for the losses. "This is not the first time that Pakistan has raised objection about the construction of the power project. Whenever we initiated to construct the power project to meet our power demand Pakistan has raised objections. It is the prime responsibility of the central government to convince the Pakistan about the construction of power projects in the state. Otherwise they should compensate to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The dubious policy of the centre will not work longer. Whenever we raised the issue with the centre, it started working against the party and we were thrown out of power," said a senior National Conference leader.