India, Pak to hold technical-level talks on Wullar Barrage
India and Pakistan decided to hold technical-level discussions to resolve differences over the Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project on river Jhelum in Kashmir, with both sides viewing this as a step forward towards settling the 22-year-old iss...
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan decided to hold technical-level discussions to resolve differences over the Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project on river Jhelum in Kashmir, with both sides viewing this as a step forward towards settling the 22-year-old issue.
After the two-day Water Secretary-level talks here, the two sides said they had better appreciation of each others views and further discussions were required to find an "early and amicable" solution to the issue.
A joint statement issued after the talks between Water Resources Secretary Gauri Chatterjee and her Pakistani counterpart Ismail Qureshi, said that the two sides agreed to hold discussions, including at the technical level, on mutually acceptable dates.
Qureshi, who later called on Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, told reporters that the next Secretary-level meeting will be held within six-seven months.
The talks were held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere, the statement said adding, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the Indus Water Treaty and looked forward to the next round of talks with a view to resolving the issue at an early date.
"I see it as a movement in the forward direction," Soz said.
Pakistan had asked India to consider abandoning the project because it violates the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, Qureshi said.
India has maintained that the barrage, aimed at facilitating navigation between Srinagar and Baramulla districts, did not violate the treaty.
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