Pak plans to move international court over Baglihar

Pakistan plans to move the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) to challenge a World Bank neutral expert's decision in favour of India in the dispute over the Baghliar hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir.

Raymond Lafitte, the neutral expert who arbitrated on the project, had in his final determination issued on February 12, 2007, subscribed to Pakistan's three points of difference but upheld India's stand on the design of the dam's spillway gates.

Pakistani authorities, however, believe Lafitte's ruling will allow India to regulate the waters of the Chenab river and inflict "huge damage" to the irrigation system in Punjab province, which meets 85 per cent of the food requirements of the country.

Pakistan's Water and Power Secretary Ismail Qureshi yesterday held a meeting with legal experts to draw up a case to challenge Lafitte's ruling in the ICA, The News reported today. The case will seek changes in the design of the project's spillway gates, the newspaper quoted an unnamed senior government official as saying.

"The final decision to move the ICA against the determination of the neutral expert is likely by next week," the official said.

Attorney General Malik Qayyum, who attended yesterday's meeting, said legal experts and government officials were examining "different possibilities on challenging the neutral expert's decision" on the spillway gates.

A decision on this was likely by next week, he said. Qayyum said, "it seemed that Pakistan would move the ICA as it is a very sensitive issue."

The experts claimed India could "weaken the defence of Pakistan by stopping the waters of the Chenab through (the Baghliar project's) spillways as two canals emanating from Headmarala, Sialkot, which irrigate central Punjab, are made from the defence point of view".

"Therefore, we have started examining the decision in which the neutral expert has held that the spillway gates are in conformity with international practice and state-of-the-art," the official said.

Pakistani authorities did not start consultations with experts on Lafitte's ruling despite reminders from Pakistan's Indus Waters Commission due to "various developments in the country", the report said.

At the meeting held yesterday, Indus Waters Commission Chief Jamaat Ali Shah made a presentation on the impact of the existing design of the Baghliar project on Pakistan's share of the waters of the Chenab. Shah told experts and officials of the law and the foreign affairs ministries that Pakistan should seek relief from the ICA.

Pakistani officials also believe Lafitte should have acted "strictly according to the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960" and not in accordance with the international practices as these "are not relevant to the treaty".

Under the treaty, the court of arbitration would comprise seven members. India and Pakistan will select two members each and the three other members will be chosen jointly by the two countries.