ISLAMABAD - Pakistan said on Friday that the World Bank had assured it of resolving Kishanganga and Rattle dams issues within India under the Indus Basin Treaty.

Speaking at a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal said that Pakistan had effectively been raising the issue of Kishanganga project to resolve it according to the dispute resolution mechanism available in the Indus Water Treaty.

He said water issues can lead to a very dangerous situation and “it is necessary to resolve such problems according to IWT spirit.” He said that Pakistan believes the inauguration of Kishanganga dam by India without resolution of the disputes was violation of the treaty.

This week, a four-member Pakistan delegation headed by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf requested the World Bank to act as a guarantor in the Kishanganga Dam issue.

The delegation apprised World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and other representatives in Washington of India’s repeated violations of the Indus Waters Treaty.

The 330MW Kishanganga hydropower station, started in 2009, is one of the projects that India has fast-tracked in Kashmir amid tension with Pakistan.

The Kishanganga project was delayed for several years as Pakistan dragged India to the International Court of Arbitration, which ruled in India’s favour in 2013.

India claims the hydropower projects underway in Kashmir are “run-of-the-river” schemes that use the river’s flow and elevation to generate electricity rather than large reservoirs, and do not contravene the treaty.

He said Pakistan was pursuing the matter of release of 54 Pakistani prisoners from Indian jail who remain incarcerated despite completing their sentence.

“We also await New Delhi’s response to Pakistan’s humanitarian proposal for exchange of prisoners above 60 years and children below the age of 18, shared with the Indian side on 7 March 2018,” he said.

On its part, he said, Pakistan had made positive gestures on the humanitarian track vis-a-vis India, as reflected in the release of civilian prisoners, fishermen, Pakistan’s positive response, “and addition of further humanitarian proposals to Indian proposal for exchange of prisoners, our facilitation of visits of pilgrims to religious shrines despite India’s denial of visas for Pakistani zaireen (pilgrims), Pakistan’s good-faith humanitarian gesture of allowing Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav’s family to visit him etc. We expect our friendly gestures to be reciprocated.”

Dr Faisal said security-related US assistance serves the mutual interest of stability in the region. In January, the US suspended security assistance to Pakistan targeting the Coalition Support Fund.

Pakistan claims the money it had received from the US was mainly reimbursements for supporting US-led coalition forces after they invaded Afghanistan in 2001. Islamabad also made it clear that US aid did not run Pakistan’s the anti-terror or play a significant economic role. Islamabad also threatened to end the partnership if pressed to the limits.

He said Pakistan's counterterrorism operations in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas and clearing of its territory from all sorts of terrorist networks is a testimony that the US assistance for capacity building of Pakistan's law enforcement and security agencies has helped achieve the shared objectives of peace and stability in the region.

He, however, said the security-related US assistance, including the CSF reimbursement to Pakistan, has been suspended earlier this year. He said US assistance on civilian economic side is continuing with both sides engaged in undertaking collaborative projects and programs.

To a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan wanted to have a peaceful neighborhood for socio-economic development of the people of the region.  He said Pakistan will not be oblivious to the imperative of safeguarding its national security.

Faisal said the United Nations observers should be allowed to perform its duty on the Indian side of the Line of Control to check human rights violations by New Delhi in Kashmir.

He said continued denial of visas to Pakistani artists and authors hamper people to people contacts, which are an essential prerequisite for promoting peace and tolerance in the region. Dr Faisal said maltreatment of minorities, especially Muslims, in India was regrettable.

He said the 7th Extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation Summit on Palestine was held in Istanbul, Turkey on May 18 to discuss the grave situation in the aftermath of the blatant human rights violations by the occupying forces in the state of Palestine.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi led the Pakistan delegation to the Summit. The Prime Minister conveyed deep appreciation to President Erdogan for convening a timely and important summit on the question of Palestine.

“Pakistan, along with the OIC countries strongly condemned the massacre and maiming of innocent Palestinians in April 2018 by Israeli forces. Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the Palestinian people in the face of unbridled tyranny. In this regard 19 May 2018 was announced as Palestine Solidarity Day in Pakistan,” he added.

He said Occupied Kashmir continues to bleed. “In just the past week alone, the Indian occupation forces killed four people in Handwara area of Kupwara district. Indian occupation forces opened indiscriminate firing on defenseless Kashmiris when villagers refused to participate in a forced ‘Iftar party’ of the occupation forces in Shopian district, injuring several innocent civilians including four young girls,” he said.

He said Pakistan summoned the Indian High Commissioner and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary on May 18, in Pukhlian, Cahprar, Harpal, Charwah and Shakargarh Sectors, resulting in the death of four civilians.

Faisal said Pakistan hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Legal Experts meeting from May 23-25 in Islamabad.

On a happier note, he said: “We congratulate Dr Abdul Hameed, Pakistani scientist of Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, Karachi University, on receiving the excellence award for presenting outstanding science research at the 91st annual meeting of the Japan Endocrine Society, Japan. His achievements demonstrate our vibrant culture.”

Faisal said a team of Pakistani students who won the 2nd prize in the Network Group and 3rd prize in Enterprise Cloud Communication, in the Huawei ICT Competition 2018 Global Final held in Shenzhen, China “have also made us immensely proud.”