By IANS
New Delhi : India and Pakistan held talks here Thursday to resolve their decades-old dispute over the construction of a dam on the Wullar Lake in Jammu and Kashmir.
India’s Water Resources Secretary Gauri Chatterji held talks with Pakistan’s Water and Power Ministry Secretary Muhammed Ismael Qureshi on issues relating to the Tulbul navigation project, which Pakistan calls the Wullar Barrage.
Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, Pakistan commissioner for the Indus Water Treaty, was also part of his country’s delegation.
“The two sides discussed all issues relating to the Tulbul navigation project. We countered Pakistani objections regarding the design of the dam,” an official source said.
The two-day talks conclude Friday.
India began work on the Tulbul project in 1984, but it had to stop midway in 1987 after Pakistan charged that the construction of the dam violated the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.
Islamabad also raised objections to the design and structure of the dam, saying that it would starve the country of its rightful share of water from the Jehlum river which flows across the border.
The two south Asian neighbours last held talks on the Tulbul navigation project, which is aimed at improving navigation between Srinagar and Baramulla districts, in June, 2006 in Islamabad. Both sides have reaffirmed their commitment to the Indus Water Treaty.
The talks are being held as part of the composite dialogue between the two countries.