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Baglihar
And Kishan Ganga
13 May 2005
The News International
Islamabad: With a settlement over Baglihar
Dam already long overdue, Pakistan and India appear to be going
nowhere in their bid to resolve their differences over the 330MW
Kishan Ganga Hydro Power Dam being constructed in Indian-controlled
Kashmir and said to be in its initial stages. The second round of
commissioner-level talks on the issue concluded in Lahore on Tuesday
without any forward movement, but with promises of more meetings.
The earlier round of talks in New Delhi also did not help the two
countries narrow down their divergence of views. Pakistan holds that
the dam will divert the water to India in violation of the
provisions of the Indus Basin Treaty, but India disagrees. In case
of failure, Pakistan retains, under the provision of the treaty, the
option of taking up the issue with neutral experts, to be appointed
either by the two governments or by the World Bank. Islamabad has
already indicated that it will invoke the third-party provision of
the treaty in case of the failure of the next round. While the water
dispute settlement mechanism exists in the treaty, it is unfortunate
that the two governments lack the capacity to end their bickering
bilaterally. It seems that the officials of the two countries either
have run out of options or have developed such rigidity that they
are unable to agree on a single point. Such an attitude guided by
either standard operational procedures or their institutional
approach essentially foils the positive atmosphere created by the
political leadership. Flexibility is required to resolve issues - a
quality that seems to be missing in the self-righteous bureaucrats
on both sides. It is essential that the leaders of both countries
ensure that their commitments of friendship are translated into
action. Small procedural glitches must not be allowed to spoil the
environment of congeniality that has been created. If the two
countries have to go for third-party mediation on the smallest of
disputes, how will they resolve more controversial territorial
issues that come up for serious discussion? These smaller disputes
should be utilised to build the kind of confidence that is required
to settle contentious issues, which involves a lot of give and take
in order to do this. The two governments ought to address these
smaller issues promptly, as failures will lead to public
disillusionment about the possibility of the permanent resolution of
Indo-Pakistani disputes, a disillusionment that may hurt the ongoing
confidence-building measures. |
