'India should release Pak's water from Chenab'

Pakistan today pressed India to release its share of river waters under the Indus treaty as it has documentary evidence that its due share of water had been "stolen" from the Chenab river.

Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah said if India continues the alleged violation of the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan would have the option to take the issue to the court of arbitration or to neutral experts. The decision of neutral experts would be acceptable to Pakistan, he said.

"India should concede violations of the Indus Waters Treaty. If they do not accept the violations in the Treaty, then it would be a big setback to Treaty (and give the impression) that India is not serious about implementing the Treaty," Shah said.

India should release Pakistan's share of river waters as Islamabad has documentary evidence that its due share of water had been "stolen" from the Chenab river, Shah said.

Shah said India's Indus Water Commissioner had, in a recent letter, denied that the country had violated theTreaty. The official also said the water shortage was due to the change of weather.

In the upcoming meeting of the Permanent Commission for Indus Waters, the Indians would be asked how they had recently filled the Baglihar dam, Shah said. "If water is scarce, the Indus Waters Treaty forbids the filling of the reservoir. If they filled their reservoir despite scarcity, this was definitely from Pakistan's share," he added.

A Pakistani delegation plans to visit India during October 18-24 to inspect the Baglihar dam and discuss water-sharing issues with Indian officials.