"Professor Raymond Lafitte, a Swiss national, civil engineer and professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, will be asked to make a finding on a 'difference' between the two governments concerning the construction of the Baglihar project.
"The Chenab River is one of the five that comprise the Indus Rivers system. After the Partition of the sub-continent, the Indus Waters Treaty was concluded in 1960 with support from the World Bank. The Treaty divided the river systems between the two countries. The Bank is a signatory to the Treaty and earlier this year was approached by Pakistan to appoint a Neutral Expert to deal with a 'difference' that had arisen between the two countries.
"Both India and Pakistan have found Professor Lafitte suitably qualified as a Neutral Expert. His findings will be made known in time. Under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty, his determination will be final and binding".
In an explanation, the World Bank said that it was a signatory to the Treaty for certain specified purposes, "but it is not a guarantor" of the Treaty.
The Bank, however, said that many of the purposes for which it signed the Treaty had been completed. There now remains the responsibility for the World Bank under the Treaty that relates to the settlement of 'differences' and 'disputes'.
The 70 years old Professor Raymond Lafitte, the World Bank website said, teaches electrical power plants and water resources development. He has worked as an expert for the Swiss Government on safety of dams.
He is a member of the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects and the Federation Romande pour l'Energie (FRE); Advisory Committee to the President of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD); a former President and now a member of the International Hydropower Association; and on the Board of Governors of the World Water Council.
Currently, he is Chairman of the Committee on the Governance of Dam Projects of ICOLD.
Besides his own country, Professor Lafitte has also worked as an expert on the dam designs in Turkey, Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Kyrgyz Republic and Tunisia. In addition, he is reported to have contributed to the designs of several hydro power plants as well as underground projects as on tunnels, projects below lakes and sea, and nuclear engineering.
He is said to be well conversant with English, French and German languages.