Shah Mahmood Qureshi met President World Bank in New York

NEW YORK: While considering Pakistan’s concerns on India’s Kishan Ganga and Ratle projects, the President World Bank Jim Yong Kim in a meeting with the Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi has expressed the bank’s desire to play a constructive role in resolving this important matter at the earliest.

The meeting was held in New York on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly session, with a focus on the World Bank’s role in the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty as its administrator.

The foreign minister presented Pakistan’s position on the Kishan Ganga and Ratle projects in a forceful and emphatic manner.

The foreign minister said that Indian construction of these projects represented a violation of the Treaty, which gave Pakistan exclusive rights to western rivers.

FM met the President of the World Bank on the sidelines of UNGA, raised the issue of the construction of water reservoirs by India in violation of Indus Waters Treaty. FM said that water issue should not be politicized and should be dealt as a humanitarian issue. pic.twitter.com/DRwvLihVhH

— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) September 24, 2018

Qureshi presented Pakistan’s position on Kishan Ganga and Ratle projects

Shah Mahmood Qureshi emphasized that the procedural delay on Pakistan’s request to the World Bank to empanel the Court of Arbitration had resulted in the completion of the Kishan Ganga Projects while construction work on Ratle was in progress.

Qureshi said that the new government viewed this as a humanitarian issue with lives and livelihood of millions at stake. It was not interested in politicizing the issue.

The president World Bank remarked that with the ongoing challenge of climate change, water issues were likely to be more prominent on the international agenda. He indicated that the World Bank was in the process of finalizing a fresh initiative and would soon be approaching Pakistan and India with details.

The meeting was conducted in a cordial and frank setting. Both sides resolved to maintain regular contacts at various levels to seek an early and amicable settlement to the issue.