Baglihar dam

·         On January 30, 2008 Pakistan expressed hope that India would allow its officials to inspect the Baglihar dam before it got operational.

·         Pakistan Indus High Commissioner had requested for a meeting to inspect the dam before its commissioning.

·         In his verdict on the hydroelectric power project in February, 2007, the World Bank neutral expert, Professor Raymond Lafitte, had declared that it was a clear violation of Indo-Pak Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and New Delhi should modify its design.

·         The neutral expert in his verdict clearly stated that India should not have built the dam because it is negation of the Treaty facilitated by the World Bank.

·        On June 12’04 the first-ever Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan on the Baghlihar Hydel Power Project in Jammu and Kashmir was announced for June 21.

·        The two countries have held several rounds of technical-level talks so far to discuss Pakistan’s objections to the construction work being carried out for the Baghlihar project, but the talks were stalemated.

·        It was on Pakistan’s specific request that India agreed to upgrade the level of talks to the level of Water Resources Secretaries of the two countries, something that had never been done so far.

·        Pakistan has objected to India erecting gates to divert the Chenab water to the 450 mw Baghlihar project.

·        Pakistan accuses India of violating the 1960 Indus Basin Treaty, while New Delhi has consistently maintained that it had done nothing wrong.

o       Under the 1960 treaty, Pakistan has exclusive rights to the waters of three western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab - while India has exclusive rights over the waters of the three eastern rivers - Ravi, Sutlej and Beas.