Wednesday, May 11 2005 08:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: The three-day talks between water officials of India and Pakistan to resolve differences over Kishenganga project in Jammu and Kashmir ended yesterday (May 10, 2005) evening in Lahore with both countries failing to achieve a breakthrough but at the same time agreeing to continue the dialogue to resolve the issue before July 15.

"It is a mixed bag. We have agreed to discuss the issues related to Kishenganga as one of the subjects of the agenda during the annual meeting of the Commissioners to be held in New Delhi later this month," D K Mehta, Indian Commissioner for the Permanent Indus Water Commission told sources after the talks.

The dates for the meeting would be fixed on return to New Delhi today (May 11, 2005) in consultation with other departments, he said.

In addition to that, the two sides were expected to hold two more meetings before July 15.

Pakistan's Indus Commission Commissioner Jamat Ali Shah said his country would contemplate invoking the Article 9 of the Indus Waters Treaty for a time-bound resolution of the differences if the talks failed.

Islamabad would take the route of the Baglihar project and ask World Bank to appoint neutral experts if no progress was made under the bilateral frame work. He said the onus was on India to remove Pakistan's objections.

Mehta said efforts would be made to resolve the differences in the next three months during which Pakistan officials too would inspect the hydro power project being built on river Kishenganga, a tributary of Jhelum river allotted to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

Indian officials would also visit Neelum Valley in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to ascertain Pakistan's claims of usage of Jhelum waters for agriculture and hydropower generation.

Mehta, however, said the discussions were not taking place under Article 9 of the Treaty. "We are trying to resolve it through bilateral and cooperative framework."

He made it clear that the stage to invoke Article 9 has not come and both sides are still exchanging data and Pakistan again sought some more date for which India needed time to assimilate and provide it.

Officials of the Indian delegation said most of the time during the talks was spent convincing Pakistan about the need to resolve through cooperative and bilateral negotiations instead of resorting to international arbitration.

Pakistan, for its part, first insisted that the work on the project should be stopped, a demand India out rightly rejected saying the Treaty made no such provision but at the same offered to address Pakistan's concerns.

The Indian delegation pointed the fate of Tulbul navigation project in JK, which was stopped over a decade ago due to Pakistan's request and the differences have not been resolved till date.

Later, Pakistan insisted that the discussions be carried out under Article 9 of the Indus Treaty. India declined to accept it saying the two sides should resolve it through earnest efforts, instead of focussing attention only on the World Bank arbitration.

The Indian delegation will return to India today (May 11, 2005) after signing the minutes.