Internationaldesk:
India Pakistan Meet: India participated in a two-day meeting convened by a neutral expert in Vienna. The meeting was part of the proceedings aimed at resolving the dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kishangarh and Ratale hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir. Senior advocate Harish Salve was present as India's chief advocate, the Indian External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said on Thursday.
“An Indian delegation led by the Secretary, Department of Water Resources, attended the meeting of the neutral expert proceedings in the Kishangarh and Ratale cases at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Vienna on September 20 and 21,” the ministry said. "India's participation is in line with the principled stance and accordingly, expert action is the only remedy," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the External Affairs Ministry had said in July that India was not obliged to recognize or engage in such an illegal and parallel process in the case. India had said that New Delhi had taken a consistent and principled stance in the matter. The illegally constituted so-called arbitration court has ruled that it has the jurisdiction to hear cases related to the Kishangarh and Ratale hydropower projects, according to an official statement.
In April this year, India had called for changes to the 62-year-old treaty, considering Pakistan's stance on the Indus Water Treaty. This treaty was between India, Pakistan and the World Bank. Both India and Pakistan are beneficiaries. This treaty is an agreement on water sharing of rivers flowing in both countries.
On January 25 of the same year, India issued a notice to Pakistan on points to be considered. It outlined the need for changes to the treaty. But for many years, Pakistan insisted on not changing the treaty. He has been consistently objecting to India's Kishangarh and Ratale hydropower projects. But in early April, Pakistan softened its stance and sent India a reply on notice.
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