© Provided by The Indian ExpressA DAY after the World Bank appointed a “neutral expert” and a chairman of the Court of Arbitration to address disagreements between India and Pakistan over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants, the government said on Wednesday that the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty must be in the “letter and spirit” of the Treaty. “India believes that the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty must be in the letter and spirit of the Treaty.”The MEA statement came a day after the World Bank appointed Michel Lino as the Neutral Expert and Prof. Sean Murphy as Chairman of the Court of Arbitration. “They will carry out their duties in their individual capacity as subject matter experts and independently of any other appointments they may currently hold,” the World Bank said in a statement on October 17. “The two countries disagree over whether the technical design features of these two hydroelectric plants contravene the Treaty. The World Bank is confident that the highly qualified experts appointed as Neutral Expert and as members of the Court of Arbitration will engage in fair and careful consideration of their jurisdictional mandate, as they are empowered to do by the Treaty,” it said.

Source: Indian Express October 20, 2022 09:32 UTC