Wednesday, May 11 2005 10:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The World Bank, which was approached by Pakistan for arbitration in the issue of the construction of the Baglihar hydropower project by India in Jammu and Kashmir, has named a Swiss national as a neutral expert to resolve the dam issue.

The decision to appoint Professor Raymond Lafitte for the job was reached after consultations with the Governments of India and Pakistan, the bank said in a statement.

"Professor Lafitte...will be asked to make a finding on differences between the two Governments concerning the construction of the Baglihar project," it said yesterday (May 10, 2005).

Both India and Pakistan have found Lafitte, a civil engineer and a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, suitably qualified as a neutral expert. His findings will be made known in time. Under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty, his determination will be final and binding, the bank said.

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 over the Chenab River after failure of talks with New Delhi early this year.

It had "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 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.