ISLAMABAD: Although the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) has already announced its partial award on the controversial Kishanganga dam, the festering dispute is far from over.
Pakistan and India may soon enter a new legal battle if New Delhi doesn’t change the design of the hydropower project being built on the Neelum-Jehlum river in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Sources told The Express Tribune that Islamabad has asked New Delhi to not restart the construction of the dam until differences over the project have been resolved either amicably or through the intervention of a neutral expert. They added that since India is noncommittal, Pakistan may be forced to approach a neutral expert earlier than expected.
Both legal and technical issues surrounding the dam remain unresolved. But while the legal issues will be removed once the ICA announces its final award in December 2013, technical aspects have yet to be put before a neutral expert.
