Water dispute may trigger Indo-Pak war: Assef

LAHORE Adviser to Prime Minister on Education and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali has stated that war between India and Pakistan in near future is possible over water issue.
He stressed the need for immediate dialogue between the two countries for resolving water-related issues.
He was speaking at a seminar on 'Improvement on Energy Sector organised by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Pakistan (IEEEP) at a local hotel here on Saturday.
He alleged that India is stealing water share of Pakistan from the rivers and advised India that it must start dialogue with Pakistan in order to resolve the water-related issues under Indus Water Treaty , otherwise, he said, he foresees a war between the two countries over the water dispute.
India did not take the issue seriously in order to resolve distribution of water between the both countries and in this regard Indian government should make serious efforts, Assef added.
'Pakistan may seek international arbitration on the water issue, finding India not sincere in resolving the issue, he added.
While responding to media queries, he said that Pakistan would back out of the treaty and India would be responsible for the consequences.
He elaborated that the Indus Water Treaty was the proper forum for resolving the outstanding water issue with India, as the same could not be resolved through sentimental rhetoric.
About Baglihar Dam, he said that former President Pervez Musharraf was responsible for the construction of dam, adding, that India had served two notices on the Musharraf govt before the construction of the dam but his govt did not respond to them and only raised hue and cry when the dam became operational.
He said Pakistan lost the case in arbitration because of an inordinate delay by Musharraf govt to tackle the issue. About Kishan Ganga Dam, he said IRSA was the right forum to discuss the issue and reach a viable solution.
About the past diplomatic failure on the issue, he said military dictators always violated peoples rights and undermined interests of the country.
About power shortages in the country, he held the private sector responsible as Rental Power Plants (RPPs) were to be installed by the private sector, not the government.
About the delay in power generation, he said the Planning Commission was a consultant body and could not take action for delay by some institutions.
He said RPPs having capacity of 5,000mw were under construction and they would start production within two years.
About governments failure to overcome loadshedding by Dec 31, 2009, he said, 'perhaps we should not have committed to the nation of ending load shedding by Dec 31.
Commenting on Jamaat Ali Shahs statement, he said, 'The PPP government is aware of its responsibilities to safeguard the interests of the nation as well as the country.
He said the Baglihar Dam could never have been built had the Musharraf govt not slept on the issue. He said the government had explored prospects of generating power thorugh coal and Thar Coal Mining Project was part of government efforts to generate cheap power.
Earlier, he said Pakistan could not be able to attract foreign companies to explore coal in the country. He said 20,000mw power could be generated through coal.
He said nuclear energy could not be generated without signing the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).
He said Pakistan could get LNG from Iran to meet its energy needs, adding, that Qatar had technology to provide LNG to Pakistan at Port Qasim. He said Pakistan would have to revive Five Year Plans to meet future challenges.
Chief of Pakistan Muthidda Kisan Mahaz, Ayub Mayo said that due to negligence of Pakistani leaders, India had damaged the irrigation system of Pakistan by stealing water in violation of the treaties.
He said a huge crisis is impending in the water and agricultural sector of Pakistan. He said Pakistani people were ready to live without electricity for some time but they wont allow the RPPs to be part of Pakistans power sector.
On this occasion Engineers in the seminar gave lucrative suggestions for the energy sector of the country while Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali appreciated them.