Pakistan invited to visit disputed dam
India has extended an invitation to Pakistani irrigation experts to visit a disputed dam in Kashmir that Islamabad says will violate a water-sharing accord between the two sides.
Pakistani irrigation experts on Monday accepted the invitation.
The Kishanganga Dam, to be built in Indian-administered Kashmir, will generate power using water from the Jhelum river, which runs through the Pakistani and Indian portions of the divided Himalayan region.
DK Mehta, head of the Indian delegation, said Pakistani experts were invited to Kashmir in July to inspect the dam.
The head of Pakistan‘s delegation, Jamat Ali Shah, said dates for the trip would be conveyed to India later on.
“We also agreed to continue talks on the dam in the future,” Mehta said after two days of discussions in Lahore. “We will try to resolve all differences on the dam soonest.”
Objections
Islamabad has also objected to a separate dam India is building on another river in Kashmir, fearing it will deprive its farmers of water.
Pakistan says the projects will violate a 1960 World Bank-brokered Indus Water Treaty that regulates the sharing of river water between the two countries.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan but each claims the Himalayan territory in its entirety.