Pakistan delegation to visit India next week for dialogue on water issues

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River Indus flows through Leh, in the Ladakh region. — Reuters/File
River Indus flows through Leh, in the Ladakh region. — Reuters/File

Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehr Ali Shah on Saturday said a five-member delegation will visit India next week for talks on the water dispute between the two countries.

Talking to Dawn.com, Shah said the dialogue will be held in New Delhi from May 30-31. He added the delegation would make the trip through the Wagah Border.

"There will be talks on the sharing of flood forecast data while the PCIW (Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Water) annual report will also be discussed during the negotiations," he said.

Shah said the Pakistani delegation will not visit under construction Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai dams but they and other projects will come under discussion.

The commissioner said that Pakistan had always insisted on the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty and raised its voice on India's behaviour in a timely manner.

In March, the two countries had reiterated their commitment to implement the Indus Waters Treaty in its true spirit and expressed the hope that the next meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission would be held at an early date in India.

Pakistan had raised serious objections over the spillway and freeboard of the Pakal Dul project, demanded that a visit to the site should be arranged in the early part of May and another annual meeting on the issue should be held so that its discussions could be made part of the annual report and minutes of the PCIW.

Under the relevant provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, the meeting takes place alternatively in Pakistan and India annually.

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