Swiss water expert to mediate in dam dispute
The World Bank has named a Swiss, Raymond Lafitte, to mediate in a dispute between Pakistan and India over a dam India is building in Kashmir.
Both sides have welcomed the appointment of Lafitte, who is a civil engineer and a professor at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.
“Both India and Pakistan have found Professor Lafitte suitably qualified as a neutral expert,” commented the Washington-based bank in a statement. “His findings will be made known in time.”
The Baghliar hydropower project under construction on the Chenab river is among a range of issues that the nuclear-armed rivals are discussing in a peace process launched last year.
These include negotiations on the Indian-ruled but disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Water treaty
The Chenab is one of the rivers in the Indus river system, which was divided between India and Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.
The World Bank is a signatory to the treaty, under which India has rights to water from the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers, while Pakistan has rights to the water of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.
All the rivers flow from India to Pakistan. Pakistan is heavily dependent on rivers flowing from Indian-administered Kashmir for its hydro-power and irrigation needs.
In its statement, the bank said it had been approached earlier this year by Pakistan to appoint a “neutral expert” to deal with differences over the Baghliar project.
“Under terms of the Indus Water Treaty, his determination will be final and binding,” it added.
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India (largely Hindu) and Pakistan (mainly Muslim) have had strained relations since partition in 1947.
They have gone to war three times, with the mainly Muslim province of Kashmir the major bone of contention.
Pakistan’s alleged support for separatist and terrorist movements in Kashmir has heightened tensions.
The two countries announced a cease-fire in November 2003 and declared their intention to open talks in January 2004.
The international community has been watching the conflict closely, as both countries possess nuclear weapons.
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