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Pakistan asks World Bank to vouch India abiding IWT

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Pakistan asks World Bank to vouch India abiding IWT

Raising its voice against India once again, Pakistan has asked the World Bank to recognise its responsibility under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 to address its concerns over two disputed projects. This has come at a time when India has completed the Kishanganga hydropower project.

Dawn, a leading Pakistani daily published a report on Thursday quoting an unnamed government official saying that energy ministry has sent a fresh communiqué early this week to the Washington based World Bank’s vice president urging to “recognise its responsibility” and play its role to ensure that India abided by the provisions of the 1960 treaty while building the projects.

In August last year World Bank had allowed India to construct hydroelectric power facilities on tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers with certain restrictions under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Pakistan had opposed the construction of the Kishanganga (330 meawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan asks World Bank to vouch India abiding IWTThe World Bank noted that the two countries disagree over whether the technical design features of the two hydroelectric plants contravene the treaty and said that treaty designated these two rivers as well as the Indus as the “Western Rivers” to which Pakistan has unrestricted use.

The Pakistani official said to the Dawn that there was no doubt that India had completed the 330MW Kishanganga project during the period the World Bank “paused” the process for constitution of a Court of Arbitration (COA) as requested by Pakistan in early 2016. India had countered the Pakistani request by calling for a neutral expert.

Pakistan had called for resolution of disputes over Kishanganga project on the Neelum river and 850MW Ratle hydropower project on the Chenab.

The Dawn report further said that in August last year Islamabad had received reports that New Delhi had completed the Kishanganga project as per the design that had been objected to by Pakistan.

The Pakistani official said that the second letter was sent to World Bank after a Pakistani delegation of the Indus Waters Commission was not allowed to visit various controversial projects in India, including Kishanganga and Ratle schemes.

Pakistan asks World Bank to vouch India abiding IWTAccording to Pakistani officials, in December 2016, the World Bank had announced that it had “paused” the process for either appointing a Court of Arbitration (COA) or a neutral expert and started mediation between the two countries.

Since then India and Pakistan held two rounds of talks under the World Bank auspices. On completion of the project Pakistan proposed some modifications to partially address its concerns over the Kishanganga project’s design for water storage without affecting its power generation capacity.  Last round of secretary level talks were held in Washington in September.

Dawn observed that Pakistan’s experience with both the international forums — neutral expert and CoA — has not been satisfactory for varying reasons and outcomes, partially due to domestic weaknesses including delayed decision-making.  Pakistan first challenged the Baglihar hydroelectric project before the neutral expert and then the Kishanganga and Wuller Barrage projects before the CoA.

Pakistan had opposed Indian move saying its water rights were being violated by India on two rivers, the Chenab and Jhelum, through faulty designs of Ratle and Kishanganga projects. Pakistan believed that Kishanganga’s pondage should be a maximum of one million cubic metres instead of 7.5 million cubic metres, intake should be up to four metres and spillways should be raised to nine metres.

About the Ratle project, Pakistan had four objections. Freeboard should be one metre instead of two metres, pondage should be a maximum of eight million cubic metres instead of 24 million, intake level should be at 8.8 metres and spillways at the height of 20 metres.

It believes the Indian design of Ratle project would reduce Chenab flows by 40 per cent at Head Marala and cause considerable irrigation loss to crops. The Ratle dam is believed to be three times larger than the Baglihar dam.

Under the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty, the waters of the eastern rivers — the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — had been allocated to India and that of the western rivers — the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan except for certain non-consumptive uses.

The Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant is part of a run-of the-river hyderoelectric scheme that is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga river to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin. It is located 3 km north of Bandipore with an installed capacity of 330 MW.

Construction on the project began in 2007 and was expected to be complete in 2017. However, construction was halted by Hague’s Court of Arbitration in October 2011 due to Pakistan’s protest. All the three units (3 x 10 MW) were commissioned and synchronised with the electricity grid by 30 March 2018.

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Trump rejects Iran’s 7-day peace plan, says deal can come after US polls

US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s seven-day proposal to end hostilities and indicated that a deal could come after the US midterm elections in November.

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Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s latest proposal aimed at bringing an end to the ongoing conflict, while indicating that a possible agreement could come after the US midterm elections in November.

Iran had proposed a seven-day framework under which hostilities could be brought to an end, the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened and negotiations over its nuclear programme could resume.

Iran’s seven-day proposal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had put forward the proposal through intermediaries. Under the plan, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened by the end of the seventh day if specified conditions were met, while broader nuclear discussions would restart.

The proposal was based largely on an earlier understanding reached between Washington and Tehran, but Iran sought to implement the latest framework much faster. The earlier arrangement had provided a longer period for negotiations.

The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important waterway for global energy shipments, making its reopening a key element of any effort to ease the wider conflict.

Trump points to US midterm elections

Trump, speaking at the United Nations, showed no indication that he was ready to immediately resume negotiations on the terms proposed by Tehran.

He called for the economic isolation of Iran and said he believed a deal could be reached after the US midterm elections in November. Trump also said Iran was waiting to see how he performed in the midterm elections.

The remarks came as Iranian officials signalled that they remained open to diplomacy and described the UN General Assembly as an opportunity to revive negotiations.

Nuclear talks remain part of Iran proposal

Iran’s latest plan links the easing of hostilities with the resumption of negotiations over its nuclear programme.

The proposal follows the collapse of an earlier US-Iran arrangement. According to reporting on the latest proposal, the new framework is intended to compress the timeline for implementing commitments that had previously been discussed by the two sides.

For now, Trump’s remarks indicate that Washington is not accepting Tehran’s seven-day framework as presented, while Iran continues to put diplomacy and negotiations forward as part of its proposal.

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Iranian President Pezeshkian at UN says Iranians have been victims of US terrorism

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at the UN General Assembly that Iranians had been victims of US terrorism and insisted that Iran had acted in self-defence.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States of subjecting Iranians to what he described as terrorism while addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

Pezeshkian said Iran had defended itself against attacks and rejected the characterisation of the country as a terrorist actor. His remarks came during a rare wartime appearance at the UN as tensions between Iran and the United States remain high.

Pezeshkian accuses US and Israel of attacks

Speaking at the General Assembly, Pezeshkian said Iranian civilians had been targeted by attacks and described the actions against his country as aggression.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said, according to the report.

Pezeshkian also accused the United States and Israel of attacking Iran, while maintaining that Tehran’s response was an act of self-defence.

The Iranian president displayed photographs of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren who, according to his account, were killed during the early days of the conflict.

Iran’s message at the UN

Pezeshkian’s address came against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States and heightened tensions in the region.

Iranian officials had indicated ahead of the UN visit that they intended to highlight what Tehran considers attacks against its people and raise concerns over the international response to the conflict.

The Iranian delegation’s visit to New York also comes amid restrictions imposed by the United States on the delegation’s movement and other aspects of its stay, according to reporting ahead of the address.

Pezeshkian says Iran defended itself

Pezeshkian’s central message at the UN was that Iran’s military actions should be viewed as a response to attacks rather than terrorism.

His description of the conflict and the allegations against the United States and Israel represent the Iranian government’s position. They should therefore be attributed to Pezeshkian rather than presented as independently established facts.

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PM Modi’s Canada visit could help wrap trade talks, says Canada PM Mark Carney

Canadian PM Mark Carney said he is looking forward to hosting PM Narendra Modi, with both countries aiming to conclude their ongoing trade negotiations.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he is looking forward to hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as India and Canada continue efforts to advance their bilateral relationship and conclude ongoing trade negotiations.

The two countries have been working towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with both sides previously setting a target to conclude the negotiations in 2026.

Carney and Modi have held discussions on strengthening economic ties between India and Canada, including trade and investment. Their engagement has gained momentum following Carney’s visit to India earlier this year.

India-Canada trade talks

India and Canada formally resumed efforts towards a broader trade agreement after a period of strained bilateral ties. The two sides have committed to advancing negotiations on a CEPA covering their economic relationship.

In June, Carney and Modi reviewed progress in bilateral economic cooperation during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France. They expressed satisfaction with the progress in CEPA negotiations and reaffirmed their shared objective of concluding the talks in 2026.

During Carney’s visit to India in March, the two leaders had also agreed to accelerate negotiations on the CEPA and work towards finalising the agreement during 2026.

Modi’s proposed Canada visit

Carney had invited PM Modi to visit Canada in 2026, and the two leaders agreed to remain engaged through diplomatic channels to work towards a mutually convenient date for the visit.

The proposed visit comes as New Delhi and Ottawa seek to build on renewed diplomatic and economic engagement, with trade negotiations remaining a key part of the relationship.

The focus on completing the trade talks comes as both countries look to expand commercial ties and establish a broader economic framework through the proposed CEPA.

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