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Pakistan reaches to World Bank against India on Kishanganga dam

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Pakistan reaches to World Bank against India on Kishanganga dam

PM Modi inaugurated the project on Saturday

Another diplomatic row between India and Pakistan is building up after PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Kishanganga hydropower plant in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. There are reports that Pakistan will raise its concerns over the issue with the World Bank on Monday, alleging that the dam violates the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

According to Dawn report from Washington, a high-level Pakistani delegation has arrived in the US capital on Sunday for the three-day talks, covering four key points: the height of the Kishan­ganga dam, its capacity to hold water, Pakistan’s demand for setting up a court of arbitration to settle the dispute, and India’s counter-demand for deputing an international expert.

The Pakistani delegation is led by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali which includes Indus Water Commissioner Mehr Ali Shah, Water and Power Secretary Shumail Khwaja and spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Faisal.

Read More: Dawn: Pakistan lost diplomatic battle on Kishanganga dam

Anwar Iqbal writes from Washington for Dawn that Mr Ali and his team will meet World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and other senior officials during their three-day stay in Washington. They will explain why Pakistan felt threatened by the Indian move.

Pakistan reaches to World Bank against India on Kishanganga damThe Pakistani daily said that PM Modi has ignored Islamabad’s objections and the World Bank’s efforts to find a solution acceptable to both the countries. Islamabad has termed the project’s inauguration a serious breach of the treaty which was negotiated by the World Bank in 1960.

Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Pakistan’s Ambassador to US, while addressing a news conference on Saturday said the water dispute was “hugely important for us as we are an agricultural country and water is our lifeline. As a lower riparian country, we have the right to have unfettered access to the water that flows into Pakistan from the upper riparian areas.”

Read More: Pakistan asks World Bank to vouch India abiding IWT

Chaudhary further said, “We have been urging the World Bank for years to help settle this dispute. The World Bank, as a guarantor of the accord, must intervene and fulfill its duty. It is a dispute that needs immediate attention.”

Asked what Pakistan could achieve by raising objections after the completion of the dam, he said the Kishanganga plant was only one of several that India has fast-tracked in the disputed Himalayan region.

Islamabad wants the bank to take a decision that is binding on both countries before other projects were completed, he added.

Prior to the project’s inauguration, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry in a statement said on Friday, “Pakistan is seriously concerned about the inauguration (of the Kishanganga plant).Pakistan believes that the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)”.

Islamabad argues that the dam violates the conditions that the treaty places on the construction of a structure that can hinder the flow of a river. The treaty, which distributes the water of the six Indus valley rivers between India and Pakistan, fixes the height and the storage capacity for all such dams.

Read More: No agreement yet between India and Pak on Indus Waters Treaty: World Bank

Pakistan says that the Kishanganga dam is higher than the suggested height and has a wider water storage area than stipulated in the treaty. India claims that it had corrected both about two years ago, when Pakistan first raised the objections.

Islamabad rejects the Indian claim, saying that the dam inaugurated on Saturday “still violates the suggested conditions and is against the spirit of the treaty”.

The treaty recognizes the World Bank as an arbitrator and Pakistan has asked the bank to form a court of arbitration to settle the dispute because its decision will be legally binding. However, India has rejected the proposal and asked the bank to appoint an international expert to look into the issue.

The Kishanganga Hydro-electric Plant, a part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme, is designed to divert water from Kishanganga river to a power plant in the Jhelum river basin. Located five kilometer north of Bandipore, the plant has a installed capacity of 330 MW. Construction on the project began in 2007 and was scheduled to be completed in 2016. However, due to Pakistan’s protest about its effect on the flow of Kishanganga river, known as Neelam river in Pakistan, Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration (CoA) had halted the construction.

Later in February 2013, CoA ruled that India could divert all the water leaving a minimum amount of water to the downstream of the dam on Kishanganga river for the purpose of environmental flows.

First unit of 110 MW capacity was tested successfully on March 13 this year. On March 30, all three units, with 110 MW each were commissioned and synchronized with the electricity grid.

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Viral: Pakistan Prime Minister’s clumsiness triggers Putin’s laugh at SCO summit 2022, twitter reacts | Watch

During the dialogue between Russia and Pakistan, Putin expressed to the Pakistan’s Prime Minister that Russia is ready to extend gas supply to Pakistan as the necessary infrastructures have are already established.

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A video went viral where Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif’s clumsiness made Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin burst into a laugh at the 22nd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at Samarkand.

In the video, the Pakistan’s prime minister can be seen struggling to put on his ear piece as the device couldn’t be placed on Sharif’s ears, after which he asked for help. As the dialogue between the nations commenced, Sharif’s earpiece again fell from his ears which made the Russian president slip out an audible chuckle.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, since then, has been subjected to a lot of flak on social media where, largely the workers of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, proclaimed that the incident was an embarrassment for the country.

After Covid-19 impacting everything and forcing everything onto virtual platforms, the SCO 2022 summit was the first in-person meet in SCO history. The summit will witness the attendants of eight member nations, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, a mutual security agreement formed in 1996 between the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and later on was expanded to Pakistan, India and Iran subsequently.

During the dialogue between Russia and Pakistan, Putin expressed to the Pakistan’s Prime Minister that Russia is ready to extend gas supply to Pakistan as the necessary infrastructures have are already established. Russia and Pakistan have other ambitious projects in the pipeline, largely in the energy sector.

Another video of a similar nature went viral back in January where Prime minister Narendra Modi abruptly paused his speech at the virtual world economic forum 2022. In the video, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was delivering his speech but he suddenly paused as he asked the facilitator if he was audible.

Many believe the abrupt stop at the prime minister’s speech was caused due to a teleprompter issue. The prime minister was trolled and scrutinized by the opposition as the hashtag Teleprompter PM trended in twitter.

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Meet Shehbaz Sharif who is likely to replace Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan: Why is former Punjab Chief Minister called man of action?

Leader of Opposition Shehbaz Sharif is likely to take over the charge of the next Prime Minister of Pakistan after Imran Khan lost the no-confidence motion on Saturday.

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Shehbaz Sharif

Leader of Opposition Shehbaz Sharif is likely to take over the charge of the next Prime Minister of Pakistan after Imran Khan lost the no-confidence motion on Saturday. Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was shown the doors with 174 votes in favour of the no-confidence motion.

Coincidentally, no Prime Minister in the country has completed their five-year term in office and Imran Khan is the latest one to be added to the list. Now, all eyes are on Shehbaz Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party who is likely to hold the charge of the position.

Shehbaz Sharif’s Political Career

Shehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of three-time former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. In 1990, he was elected to the National Assembly. Following the 1999 military coup, both Shahbaz and Nawaz were forced to flee to Saudi Arabia for several years. Shehbaz Sharif has been charged with corruption, just like his elder brother.

He returned to Pakistan in 2007, and was nominated for PML-N president in 2017, but was barred from taking office after Nawaz Sharif was found guilty of hiding assets connected to the Panama Papers.

In 2018, he was nominated for the office of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly after he lost elections to Imran Khan.

Why is Shehbaz Sharif called Man of Action?

During his three years as Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province, he has collaborated extensively with China on Beijing-funded economic projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan. For this, he has earned appreciation from Chinese authorities on multiple occasions for being a man of action.

Shehbaz Sharif is recognized for his can-do administration style and friendly ties with Pakistan’s military, which holds the defense and foreign affairs sectors.

According to reports, outgoing Chinese consul general Long Dingbin referred to Sharif as an old friend of China while China Vice-Minister Zheng Xiaosong gave Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif the title of Shahbaz Speed for completing projects before schedule.

With Imran Khan losing the trust vote in the National Assembly on 9 April, Sharif said that we will not take revenge on anyone, we will not do injustice to anyone and we will not put anyone in jail, the law will take its own path. Justice will prevail in Pakistan.

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Imran Khan loses no-confidence vote, new Pakistan prime minister to be declared today at 2 pm

As per reports, Shehbaz Sharif is likely to be the next prime minister of Pakistan.

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rmer Pakistan PM Imran Khan

Pakistan’s new prime minister will be declared today at 2 pm PST. Reportedly, the session of the National Assembly will be called to nominate the new prime minister and the session will not be prorogued. Imran Khan’s government, Tehreek-e-Insaf, failed the no-confidence motion filed against him by the Opposition.

The acting speaker said that 174 members recorded their votes and all were in favour of the resolution. Imran Khan has become the first Pakistan PM to lose the trust vote. 

Following the no-confidence motion, Pakistan Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Hussain in a tweet said that it is a sad day for Pakistan. He further wrote return of looters a good man sent home.

Have a look at the tweet:

Ahead of the no-confidence motion voting, the National Assembly Speaker, Asad Qaiser, and Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri resigned from the parliament. Pakistan Attorney General, Khalid Javed Khan also resigned from the post. Principal Secretary to Pakistan Prime Minister, Azam Khan has been removed from office and has been transferred to Establishment Division.

As per reports, the Leader of Opposition, Shehbaz Sharif is likely to be the next prime minister of Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Born on September 23, 1951, he began his political career in 1988 after he got elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab in the general election. In 2018, he was nominated for the office of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly after he lost elections to Imran Khan.

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