M A I N   N E W S

PM for talks to open trade routes
Ajay Kaul

Leh (J&K), June 11
Affirming India’s commitment to settle the issue of Aksai Chin with China and Baltistan with Pakistan peacefully through talks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said efforts would be made to open trade routes with these areas currently under “foreign occupation”.

He said talks would be held with China for opening up of the route to Kailash Mansarovar through Ladakh so that the time of pilgrimage to one of the most sacred religious places could be reduced.

“A big part of Ladakh, Aksai Chin, is under foreign occupation. In the same way, Baltistan (in northern areas under Pakistani occupation) is under control of foreign troops,” he told a public meeting after laying the foundation stone for a 45 MW hydel power project here.

“We are firmly determined to resolve these problems through talks with China and Pakistan so that people can lead a peaceful life and can utilise their creative energy to take the state to new frontiers,” he said.

Aksai Chin is a part of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan in 1947 and later ceded to China.

The Prime Minister noted that in earlier times, trading used to be done through Ladakh with Xinkiang (China) and Central Asia. “I will make an effort to ensure that relations with China improve and new trade routes are opened with that country”.

Earlier, the Prime Minister said efforts were being made to open the route between Kargil and Skardu in Pak-occupied northern areas as people wanted to have trade relations with Baltistan and Gilgit.

Dr Manmohan Singh, who laid the foundation stone for a 44 MW power project in Kargil earlier, said the people of the state have been suffering a lot of problems because of conflict with Pakistan.

Recalling the 1999 Pakistani aggression in Kargil, Dr Manmohan Singh said “Our effort is to ensure that such dangers do not recur. That is why we have started talks with Pakistan government to ensure permanent end to mutual conflicts and so that people of the two countries could live peacefully.

“In this regard an important decision has been taken on opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service after 55 years,” he said.

The Prime Minister announced a grant of Rs 10 crore each for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil and the LAHDC, Leh.

Dr Manmohan Singh said converting the Srinagar-Leh road into national highway was under consideration and plans were being contemplated to make this road an all-weather route by constructing a 12-km tunnel to bypass Zojila Pass, which becomes inhospitable during winters.

He said the government was also planning to approve construction of the highway between Leh and Manali in Himachal Pradesh and was considering a proposal for a separate road between Leh and Shimla. — PTI

Neutral expert holds talks on Baglihar
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 11
The World Bank-appointed neutral expert on the Baglihar dam controversy has held the first meeting with Indian and Pakistani delegations in Paris under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.

The two-day meeting, which ended yesterday, discussed procedures to be adopted by the expert, Prof Raymond Lafitte of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in consultation with India and Pakistan. The two sides will give detailed presentation to the neutral expert in near future after which Professor Lafitte will visit the dam site in Jammu and Kashmir, South Block sources told The Tribune this evening.

The neutral expert has prepared a tight schedule with a view to complete the exercise at the earliest.

The Indian delegation was led by Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Mr J. Hari Narayan, while the Pakistani delegation was led by Mr Makhdoom Ali Khan, Attorney General. Pakistan has been called upon to give detailed memorandum on its complaint to the World Bank giving detailed reasons for its accusations against India of the treaty’s violation.

This is the first time in the 45-year-old history of the Treaty when the World Bank has been approached for resolving differences between India and Pakistan on the Baglihar hydel power project. The neutral expert’s recommendations would be binding on either side on technical aspects. The neutral expert is to make a determination on the issues of difference which Pakistan had referred to him.

Mr Roberto Danino, senior vice-president and general counsel, World Bank, who opened the meeting, appreciated the constructive manner in which the Indus Water Treaty had been operated for the past 45 years. He pointed out that the neutral expert was appointed in consultation with the Governments of India and Pakistan and he was happy that the bank had a constructive and positive role to play in the process.

The first meeting focused on setting the procedures, which the neutral expert would adopt to enable him to arrive at a determination of the differences in a fair and equitable manner.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement here today, said: “The discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere and the neutral expert heard the views of the delegations of India and Pakistan on issues of procedure and documents. The procedure settled by the neutral expert affords both parties three occasions each to explain their respective stances which is in line with the practices followed by international courts and other tribunals to reach a just and equitable resolution. The neutral expert also proposes a site inspection on mutually convenient dates.”