Pakistan asked to stop pursuing the water dispute with India, by the World Bank

ISLAMABAD:A World bank-mediated treaty, on the sharing of waters from the river Indus and its tributaries was accepted by both India and Pakistan.

Islamabad( Pakistan) considers this treaty has been violated by India, due to the building of Kishanganga dam, as it may cause a change in the course of the river and also reduces the water level downstream, which is opposite of the agreed terms of the treaty.

New Delhi(India) claims that the project would not be violating the terms of the treaty and that it is just an issue of bilateral differences, which can be addressed by some neutral experts.The World Bank picked a US chief justice on November 10, 2016, the rector of Imperial College, London, and the WB president to appoint a chairman of the court, to resolve the dispute over the dam.

But in 2016, December, the WB president stated that the process of appointing the chairman has been paused, in a letter to the then Pakistani Finance minister,Ishaq Dar.Pakistan has stated that the WB has tied its hands over the matter but has allowed India to continue its work on the dam.

In February, last year the WB further extended its halt, until secretary level talks between the countries bore fruit.

But even after four rounds of talks in February,April,July and September in Washington in which the bank was willing to appoint an international court, to pick between the two options, there was no result as India did not accept it.