India - Pakistan agree to work for amicable solution on Tulbul/Wullar project

New Delhi, Mar 28 (ANI): Water secretaries of India and Pakistan on Wednesday agreed to work for an amicable solution to Tulbul Navigation/Wullar Barrage project.

During their two-day talks, both sides emphasized the need for an early and amicable resolution of the issue within the ambit of the Indus Waters Treaty.

It was agreed that India will provide additional technical data to Pakistan, while Pakistan shall examine all data and furnish its views before the next round of the talks.

Both sides further agreed that, if required, they would explore the way forward for resolving the issue under provisions of the treaty.

The Indian delegation was led by Ministry of Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh while the Pakistan delegation was led by Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Imtiaz Kazi.

Kazi and some members of the Pakistan delegation also called on Minister of State for Water Resources, Vincent H. Pala.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to bilateral engagement in a spirit of constructive cooperation. They discussed their respective positions on the project while reaffirming the commitment to the Indus Waters Treaty 1960.

India started work on the Tulbul Navigation Project at the mouth of the Wullar Lake in Jammu and Kashmir in 1985 to make the Jhelum River navigable in the summer.

The project was stopped after Pakistan complained that India had violated the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.

Pakistan said the project could be used by India to control the flow of the Jhelum, a charge denied by New Delhi.

The two countries have held 13 rounds of talks on the issue so far, including four rounds under the composite dialogue process that was started in 2004 and stopped in 2008 after the 26/11terror attacks. (ANI)