World Bank sees hope in resolving IWT issuesWashington : Post the high level discussions at its Washington headquarters, the World Bank said that goodwill and cooperation was evident in the Indo-Pak talks held to resolve pricky issues in the Indus Water Treaty.
"The parties have agreed to continue discussions and reconvene in September in Washington, DC," the World Bank said in a brief statement issued at the conclusion of the dicussions. The details of the deliberations have not yet emerged.
The delegations led by union water resources secretary Amarjit Singh from India and Pakistan's water and power minister Khawaja Mohammed Asif had met in an effort to resolve the outstanding concerns around India's Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectricity projects.
Earlier, in a letter dated July 25, the World Bank had assured Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Sarna, its "continued neutrality and impartiality in helping the parties to find an amicable way forward."
The two countries last held talks over the two projects in March this year during the meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) in Pakistan.
Pakistan had approached the World Bank last year, raising concerns over the designs of two hydroelectricity projects located in Jammu and Kashmir.
It had demanded that the World Bank, which is the mediator between the two countries under the 57-year-old water distribution pact, set up a court of arbitration to look into its concerns.
On the other hand, India had asked for the appointment of a neutral expert to look into the issues, contending the concerns Pakistan raised were "technical" ones.
Following this, the international lender had in November 2016 initiated two simultaneous processes -- for appointing a neutral expert and establishment of a court of arbitration to look into technical differences between the two countries in connection with the projects.
The simultaneous processes, however, were halted after India objected to it.
After that, representatives of the World Bank had held talks with India and Pakistan separately, hoping for a headway.
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