Foreign Office spokesman said on Monday that according to the latest reports received from Occupied Srinagar, the Indian government had expedited work on the Baglihar dam it is building upstream the Chenab River. Speaking at his weekly briefing here, Masood Khan said that India wants to complete the dual purpose dam in the shortest possible time to present it as a fait accompli to the World Bank to whom Pakistan had referred the matter. "This is breach of the Indus Basin Treaty and thus frustrates the Neutral Expert the bank has to appoint to look into the matter."

He said this is not constructive attitude and is against the letter and spirit of Indus Waters' Treaty sponsored by the World Bank.

The spokesman said that the dam "is a matter of grave concern" to Pakistan as it threatens the water supplies from River Chenab on which the Indians are about to complete this dual purpose project.

Meanwhile, he said, President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz are to raise Pakistan's reference to the World Bank on Baghliar dam during their coming meetings with the bank chief, James D Wolfensohn, currently visiting the country.

Masood said that Wolfensohn had met with Salman Shah, Financial Adviser to Prime Minister, on Monday, but added that he did not know whether the two had discussed the matter.

He regretted that the Indian media was publishing reports to hide the real issues concerning the dam behind a smoke screen and misleading the world opinion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005