India and Pakistan on Wednesday resumed the bilateral discussion on the Indus Waters Treaty in Lahore, reported PTI. The first round of the two-day meeting is being held at the National Engineering Services Pakistan. This is the first official engagement between the two countries since Imran Khan became Pakistan’s Prime Minister on August 18.
The Indian delegation is led by Water Commissioner PK Saxena while Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Meher Ali Shah and his team are representing Islamabad. A joint notification will be issued after the two sides submit their reports.
The discussions will focus on Indian hydropower projects across the Chenab river at Lower Kalnai and Pakal Dul that will have an installed capacity of 48 megawatts and 1,000 megawatts, reported The Express Tribune.
On Tuesday, Shah said Pakistan has objected to the construction of the two dams. “We have also raised concerns over construction of dams on Pakistani rivers and India did not bother about it and continued doing the same,” he added.
The last meeting of the India-Pakistan Permanent Indus Commission was held in New Delhi in March. The delegations had then exchanged details of the water flow and the quantum of water being used under the treaty.
“The two sides will also finalise the schedule of future meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission and visits of the teams of the Indus commissioners,” PTI quoted an unnamed official of the Pakistan Water Commission as saying.
The Indus Waters Treaty, drawn up in September 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, lays down rules for how the water of the Indus and its tributaries that flow in both the countries will be used. According to the pact, India controls Beas, Ravi and Sutlej while Pakistan controls Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.
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