US trying to resolve Indo-Pak Indus water treaty row: Pakistan newspaper

ISLAMABAD: The US administration has initiated the process to resolve the water dispute between India and Pakistan without waiting for a formal invitation, Dawn reported on Tuesday while quoting officials from Washington.

The current dispute is about Islamabad's concerns about the construction of the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants by India on the Indus rivers system.

Pakistan believes the design of the projects violate the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a water distribution agreement signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank.


Last Friday, US secretary of state John Kerry called Pakistan finance minister Ishaq Dar and told him the US wanted an amicable solution on the issue.

According to a statement issued by Islamabad, Kerry told Dar that the WB president had recently informed him about Pakistan's complaints against India regarding the IWT.

Dar, the statement said, told him Pakistan appreciates US support and Islamabad's legal position on the IWT but it was the responsibility of the WB to make sure India honoured the treaty.

Following the conversation, US ambassador to Pakistan David Hale also met Dar in Islamabad.