Wednesday, April 27 2005 20:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The World Bank has announced that it was ready to appoint a neutral expert to resolve the Baglihar issue between India and Pakistan.

The Bank, which is a signatory to the 1960 Indus Water Treaty between the two countries, was approached by Pakistan for arbitration in the issue of the construction of the Baglihar hydropower project by India in Jammu and Kashmir after failure of talks with New Delhi early this year (2005).

The Bank "informed the Governments of India and Pakistan on April 25 that it has determined that it is required to comply with the request" of Islamabad "to appoint a Neutral Expert under the terms of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty," the World Bank said in a press release yesterday (Apr 26, 2005).

The Bank has now begun the process of consultation required by the Treaty for the appointment of the neutral expert, it said.

Giving a description of its "remaining roles and obligations under the Treaty," the Bank said that it has "every confidence that the procedures envisaged in this sound and long-standing Treaty will serve all parties as originally agreed by the signatories."

The World Bank is a signatory to the Treaty for certain specified purposes and is not a guarantor of the Treaty. Many of the purposes for which the World Bank signed the Treaty have been completed.

There are now three remaining responsibilities for the World Bank under the Treaty, relating to settlement of differences and disputes.