Indo-Pak officials talk water sharing

The Pakistani team, which arrived in the Indian capital New Delhi Monday, is headed by Water and Power Secretary Ashfaq Mehmood and includes Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah, engineers and experts, an Indian official said.

The Indian side is being led by V.K. Duggal, secretary in the water resources ministry and includes Water Commissioner D.K. Mehta, he said.

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India's minister for water resources, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, after a meeting with the Pakistani team late Monday, said he hoped for a "positive and good" outcome for the talks.

"Talks are going on at the secretary level. We hope that the outcome will be both positive and good which in turn will help in improving the overall bilateral relations," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Dasmunshi as saying.

The two delegations were aiming to narrow recent differences over the sharing of waters under the 1960 Indus Basin Treaty, which divides between Pakistan and India six rivers which run through or start in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The provisions of the treaty give India exclusive rights over the waters of the Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers, while Pakistan has rights over the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers.

According to Pakistan, India is violating the provisions of the treaty with its construction of the Bagliar dam on the Jhelum river and the proposed Kirshna Ganga dam on the Chenab in the Indian-controlled side of Kashmir.