Tuesday, January 18 2005 18:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India today (Jan 18, 2005) said Pakistan's decision to seek World Bank's arbitration to resolve differences over construction of Baglihar hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir was not justified and asserted that further convergence would be promoted through continued technical discussions.

"We do not believe that the reference to World Bank is justified," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters in New Delhi.

"Our view has been that during the detailed discussions held at the level of Secretaries of Water Resources recently, there has been some convergence. We believe that through continued technical discussions, further convergence would be promoted," he said.

In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said, "The decision to go to World Bank has been taken at a high level meeting this morning presided over by Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz."

Pakistan is formally approaching the World Bank invoking Article 9 (2)(A) of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty to appoint a neutral expert to arbitrate over the Baglihar dispute, he said.