Pakistan has asked India to stop opposing the construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam at various international financial institutions (IFIs), as New Delhi’s opposition to the vital dam was casting a negative impact on the ongoing Indo-Pak peace process, besides causing huge loss to the country’s exchequer.
India is against the construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam on grounds that it is located in the ‘disputed territory’ of Gilgit-Baltistan and hence it has been opposing Islamabad’s endeavors to seek the required financial assistance for the important project from multilateral creditors.
“Through diplomatic channels, Pakistan is trying to impress upon India to drop its opposition to the mega water project as it is vital for the struggling economy of the country and also that New Delhi’s decision to oppose the dam is also not based on principles, as the people of this areas had themselves decided their accession to Islamabad,” said a diplomatic source, seeking anonymity.
He said India had also been told that its opposition to the dam was impacting the ongoing peace process between the nuclear neighbors and hence it was required to review its decision.
Owing to the reluctance of IFIs like Asian Development and World Bank to extend funds for the Diamer-Basha Dam, a huge loss of $2.5b in the cost of the construction has already been caused to Pakistan’s exchequer.
The cost of Diamer-Bhasha Dam was estimated at around $11 billion in 2009, which however, has now reached at around $13 billion with an increase of $2.5billion due to the delay in the financing of the project.
A Pakistani official, who also sought anonymity, said the dam had a storage capacity of about eight million acre feet (MAF) and the expected electricity generation was 4,500MWs.
He said the project was supposed to be completed by 2017 but due to some financial problems, the dam construction was expected to be delayed by three to four years.
The ADB has reportedly committed $4.5 billion to $5 billion for construction of the project. The bank had also pledged that it would act as the government’s investment banker in raising the money from international capital markets to meet funding requirements.
Similarly, the World Bank too is reluctant to provide funds for this dam on grounds that India is opposing the project.
The official said the good thing so far was that United States had assured Pakistan to extend around $500 million in assistance for the mega project from the $7.5 billion Kerry Lugar assistance package for Islamabad.
Pakistan is also seeking Chinese assistance for the construction of dam. The official said Pakistan would not seek an NOC from India for Diamer-Bhasha Dam but it would continue to nudge New Delhi against the blocking of financial assistance to the project at the IFIs.
I think We need to go ahead with this project. Gilgit-Baltistan is part of Pakistan . Indians can shove their claims up theirs youknowwhat
Before taking stand on such issues one should know where we stand these days.India or china wont listen any thing from Pakistan untill this war will not be ceased .Even Srilanka like weak country have got rid of this civil unrest and gaining development index far better than Pakistan that is only wasting its resources and man power in the fire of war.Water wars will be new target of any wise country and china and India are on their ways to counter this war for coming decade and Pakistani representatives are only known for chattering or requesting aid from US.
Look who is opposing water reservoirs in Pakistan either it is India or Indian supported elements in Pakistan. National debate and awareness campaign must be launched by civil society, national institutes and think tanks to inform the public why water storage is a matter of life and death for Pakistan. All Pakistanis including Government and opposition should take a unified stance and work hard to bring one water storage policy to ensure enough water for each sector of national economy and expose those who bring hurdles either it is domestic or foreign obstructionists, in this important national objective.
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