Islamabad: In the midst of major peace initiatives, Pakistan has served notice to India asking it to stop work by December 31 on Baglihar hydro-power project being built on the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir, claiming it violated the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.

The notice by Pakistan asked New Delhi last week to stop construction of the project and settle the dispute by December 31, failing which Pakistan reserved the right to call for international arbitration under the aegis of World Bank, which facilitated the 1960 Water Treaty between the two countries.

Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad said a letter in this regard has been sent by the Pakistan Foreign Office last week.

The notice by Pakistan followed a recent visit made by a team of Pakistani officials to Baglihar project after clearance from India.

Significantly, Pakistan has fixed the December 31 deadline, which was close to SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) summit scheduled to be held from January 4 to 6.

The issue was expected to figure in the meetings between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, if a one-to-one meeting takes place to discuss the recent peace initiatives, including prevailing ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and a host of other confidence-building measures such as resumption of airlinks.

PTI