Pakistan will approach the World Bank after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated inaugurated the Kishanganga hydroelectric power station on Saturday during his visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday. Pakistan said the construction of the dam violates the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty between Pakistan and India.
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry told reporters in Washington DC, the country’s capital, that that a four-member delegation led by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali will reiterate Islamabad’s demand to constitute an international court of arbitration to mediate the Indus Waters Treaty dispute, reported Dawn. The delegation will hold meetings with World Bank officials over the next three days.
He said the World Bank, as a guarantor of the treaty, should address Pakistan’s concerns. Chaudhry claimed that the Kishanganga hydro-power project would disrupt water supply to Pakistan and affect agricultural production.
In January 2017, Pakistan asked India to suspend the ongoing construction of the Kishanganga and Ratle hydro-power projects. It asked the World Bank to set up a court of arbitration to mediate the dispute over the Indus Waters Treaty.
In August, the World Bank said India was allowed to construct hydroelectric power plants on the tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers under the treaty, but with certain restrictions. India and Pakistan, however, disagree about which features of the hydroelectric power plants could violate the provisions of the treaty.
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