Pakistan Media Allegation on Indian Lobby: After Pakistan’s complaint to World Bank about Kishanganga

Pakistan’s complaint to the World Bank about alleged Indian violations of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was frustrated by the South Asian department of the World Bank which is “under the influence of the Indian lobby”, said Pakistani media outlet The Express Tribune today.

The country’s media reported today that the World Bank announced yesterday that days of talks with a Pakistani delegation did not lead to an agreement in Pakistan’s water dispute with India. The dispute was regarding India commencing the 330-megawatt Kishanganga hydropower station in Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the project on May 19.

“The disagreement serves a serious blow to Pakistan that remains unable to penetrate in the World Bank, which is under heavy influence of the Indian lobby working in Washington,” wrote the Tribune. Pakistan says India has violated the 1960 IWT with the World Bank with the Kishanganga project. New Delhi believes that IWT allows it to build ‘run-of-river’ hydel projects that do not change the course of the river and do not deplete the water level downstream. Islamabad argues that the Kishanganga project not only violates the course of the river but also depletes its water level.

On Wednesday the World Bank announced that two days of talks with the Pakistani delegation did not lead to an agreement on the way forward in Pakistan’s water dispute with India.